Rufous Mourner

About the Rufous Mourner

The rufous mourner (Rhytipterna holerythra) is a passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Mexico, every Central American country except El Salvador, Colombia, and Ecuador. The rufous mourner was originally described as Lipaugus holerythrus, mistakenly grouping it with the cotingas. It was later transferred to genus Rhytipterna that had been erected in 1850. Rhytipterna was also treated as a cotinga genus but a series of studies published beginning in the 1960s resulted in its movement to the tyrant flycatcher family. The rufous mourner shares the genus with the pale-bellied mourner (R. immunda) and grayish mourner (R. simplex). The rufous and greyish mourners apparently form a superspecies.

The rufous mourner has two subspecies, the nominate R. h. holerythra (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1860) and R. h. rosenbergi (Hartert, EJO, 1905). The rufous mourner is 19.5 to 21 cm (7.7 to 8.3 in) long and weighs about 32 to 39 g (1.1 to 1.4 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Males of the nominate subspecies have a mostly cinnamon brown to russet head and upperparts with a darker rufous crown. Their wings are... Wikipedia →