Northern Bentbill

About the Northern Bentbill

The northern bentbill (Oncostoma cinereigulare) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.

The northern bentbill was originally described in 1857 by Philip Sclater as Todirostrum cinereigulare. Sclater created its current genus Oncostoma in 1862. The northern bentbill is monotypic. It shares genus Oncostoma with the southern bentbill (O. olivaceum); in the early twentieth century at least one author considered them to be conspecific. The two form a superspecies.

The northern bentbill is 9.5 to 10.5 cm (3.7 to 4.1 in) long and weighs about 4.5 to 7 g (0.16 to 0.25 oz). It has a distinctive fairly thick downcurved bill. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly pale gray head whose crown is slightly darker. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are olive. Their wings are dusky with lemon yellow edges on the flight feathers and tips on the coverts; the latter show as two wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their throat and breast are pale gray with olive streaks and their belly pale lemon-yellow... Wikipedia →