Tropical Gnatcatcher
Polioptila plumbea
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyPolioptilidae (Gnatcatchers and Gnatwrens)
- GenusPolioptila (Gnatcatchers)
- SpeciesPolioptila plumbea (Tropical Gnatcatcher)
About the Tropical Gnatcatcher
The tropical gnatcatcher (Polioptila plumbea) is a small active insectivorous songbird, which is a resident species throughout a large part of northern South America. It was formerly considered as conspecific with the white-browed gnatcatcher and the Marañón gnatcatcher.
The tropical gnatcatcher was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Todus, coined the binomial name Todus plumbeus and specified the type locality as Suriname in South America. The specific epithet plumbeus is Latin meaning "plumbeous" or "lead-coloured". Gmelin based his account on the "Plumbeous tody" that had been described in 1782 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had examined a specimen in the collection of the British Museum. The tropical gnatcatcher is now one of 17 gnatcatchers placed in the genus Polioptila that was introduced in 1855 by the English zoologist Philip Sclater.
The tropical gnatcatcher was formerly considered to conspecific with the white-browed gnatcatcher (Polioptila bilineata) and the Marañón... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Tropical Gnatcatcher in Brownsberg Nature Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Brownsberg Nature Park
Long-billed Gnatwren
Ramphocaenus melanurus
Collared Gnatwren
Microbates collaris
Purple Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes caeruleus
Red-legged Honeycreeper
Cyanerpes cyaneus
Guianan Warbling-Antbird
Hypocnemis cantator
White-fronted Manakin
Lepidothrix serena
Mouse-colored Antshrike
Thamnophilus murinus
Green Oropendola
Psarocolius viridis
Screaming Piha
Lipaugus vociferans
Gray Antbird
Cercomacra cinerascens
Green Honeycreeper
Chlorophanes spiza
White-throated Manakin
Corapipo gutturalis
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.