Cattle Tyrant

About the Cattle Tyrant

The cattle tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. In Brazil, it is called suiriri-cavaleiro. It is the only member of the genus Machetornis. The relationships of this species and genus to other genera in the tyrant flycatchers are uncertain. It resembles Tyrannus flycatchers, but this may be the result of convergence.

The genus name was given to the species by George Robert Gray and is derived from the Ancient Greek makhētēs for fighter and ornis for bird, a reference to its pugnacious behaviour and habit of dispossessing other species of their nests. The specific name comes from the Latin rixosus meaning quarrelsome, again referring to the behaviour and temperament of the species.

The species has a disjunct distribution, with three subspecies accepted: M. r. rixosa (Vieillot, 1819), the nominate subspecies, in eastern South America from northern Argentina and Bolivia to the north-eastern tip of Brazil.

M. r. flavigularis Todd, 1912, in southernmost Central America and northwestern South America from Panama to western Colombia and western Venezuela. M. r. obscurodorsalis W. H. Phelps & W. H. Phelps... Wikipedia →