Golden-faced Tyrannulet

About the Golden-faced Tyrannulet

The golden-faced tyrannulet (Zimmerius chrysops) is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The golden-faced tyrannulet was formally described in 1859 as Tyrannulus chrysops by the English zoologist Philip Sclater based on specimens collected by the zoologist Louis Fraser in Gualaquiza and Zamora of Ecuador. The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek χρυσος/khrusos meaning "gold" with ωψ/ōps, ωπος/ōpos meaning "face". The type locality has been restricted to Zamora. The golden-faced tyrannulet is now one of 13 species placed in the genus Zimmerius that was introduced in 1977 by the American ornithologist Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. with the golden-faced tyrannulet as the type species. The golden-faced tyrannulet was formerly considered to be conspecific with the Peruvian tyrannulet (Zimmerius viridiflavus).

Three subspecies are recognised: Z. c. chrysops (Sclater, PL, 1859) – Sierra de Perijá and Andes of northwestern Venezuela, Colombia (except Nariño), eastern Ecuador, and northern Peru (southward to San Martín) Z. c. minimus (Chapman, FM, 1912) – Santa Marta Mountains (northeastern Colombia... Wikipedia →