Olivaceous Flatbill

About the Olivaceous Flatbill

The eastern olivaceous flatbill (Rhynchocyclus olivaceus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela. The eastern olivaceous flatbill was formally described and illustrated in 1820 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck under the binomial name Platyrhynchos olivaceus. Temminck specified the type locality as Brazil but this was restricted to Rio de Janeiro by Olivério Pinto in 1944. The eastern olivaceous flatbill is now one of five flatbills placed in the genus Rhynchocyclus that was introduced in 1836 by Jean Cabanis.

Three subspecies are recognised: R. o. guianensis McConnell, 1911 – south Venezuela, the Guianas and north Amazonian Brazil R. o. sordidus Todd, 1952 – southeast Amazonian Brazil R. o. olivaceus (Temminck, 1820) – central north, east Brazil

The many subspecies of what is now the western olivaceous flatbill (R. aequinoctialis) were previously treated as additional subspecies; the larger species was called the olivaceous flatbill. Following a paper published in 2016 several taxonomic authorities split the olivaceous flatbill into western... Wikipedia →