Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant

About the Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant

The ash-breasted tit-tyrant (Anairetes alpinus) is a vulnerable species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia and Peru. The members of genus Anairetes are known commonly as tit-tyrants because their active foraging behavior and crests are reminiscent of the true tits in the family Paridae. The genus had formerly been named Spizitornis.

The ash-breasted tit-tyrant was originally described in the monotypic genus Yanacea which was later merged into Anairetes. The ash-breasted tit-tyrant has two subspecies, the nominate A. a. alpinus (Carriker, 1933) and A. a. bolivianus (Carriker, 1935).

The ash-breasted tit-tyrant is 13 to 13.5 cm (5.1 to 5.3 in) long; one female weighed 10 g (0.35 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a blackish crest formed by elongated feathers on the sides of the crown. The rest of their crown is white and the rest of their head is dark gray. Their upperparts are soft gray with faint blackish streaks. Their wings are blackish with whitish edges on the inner flight feathers. Their wing coverts have wide white tips that show as two bars on the... Wikipedia →