Long-tailed Tyrant

About the Long-tailed Tyrant

The long-tailed tyrant (Colonia colonus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Central America from Honduras to Panama and in every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.

The long-tailed tyrant was originally described as Muscicapa colonus, erroneously including it in the Old World flycatcher family. The long-tailed tyrant is the only member of genus Colonia. It has these five subspecies:

C. c. leuconota (Lafresnaye, 1842) C. c. fuscicapillus (Sclater, PL, 1862) C. c. poecilonota (Cabanis, 1849) C. c. niveiceps Zimmer, JT, 1930 C. c. colonus (Vieillot, 1818) Male long-tailed tyrants are 23 to 28 cm (9.1 to 11 in) and females 18 to 22 cm (7.1 to 8.7 in) long; these measurements do not include the elongated central tail feathers. Adults weigh 15 to 18 g (0.53 to 0.63 oz). Adult males of the nominate subspecies C. c. colonus are mostly dull black with a white forehead and forecrown, a whitish rump, and a grayish black belly. Their central pair of tail feathers can extend up to 13 cm (5.1 in) beyond the others and have somewhat widened tips. They are often worn or broken... Wikipedia →