| Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius (Vieillot, 1818)) |
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Scientific name: Legatus leucophaius (Vieillot, 1818) Common name: Piratic Flycatcher French name: Tyran pirate Order: Passeriformes Family: Tyrannidae Size: Body size: 15cm; Weight: 23g. Habitat: Savannah and half-open habitats with high trees. Food: Mainly frugivorous all year round. Chicks are fed with insects. Nesting: The common name of the Piratic Flycatcher comes from the fact that it does not build its own nest. They expel other species which are often larger like the Yellow-rumped Cacique (Cacicus cela) or the Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus) to use their nest. Females lay 2 to 4 eggs after having removed the eggs laid by the species which built the nest. Migration: Birds which are in the extreme northern part of the range and in the extreme southern part of the range move closer to the equator depending on fruit availability. Geographic area: Central America and South America, from south of Mexico to Bolivia and north of Argentina. |
The upper side of the Piratic Flycatcher is a uniform brown colour with narrow white edges on the wing feathers. The upper side of the head shows a small orange stripe in the middle of a wider brown band. The eyes are surmounted by a long white stripe. They are crossed by a dark stripe. Then there is a white malar stripe. The bill is dark, short and strong. The throat is white. The underside is yellowish white with blurred brown streaking on the chest and on the flanks. |
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I have shot this picture in the marshes of Caw. Some Piratic Flycatchers were perched close to nests of Yellow-rumped Caciques (according to our guide). Our boat passed a little too fast near the trees. This explains the poor framing and the low-angle shot. |
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Here is the best picture I have been able to shot. We should have increased the distance from the subject and the focal length to decrease this low-angle effect. |
André Bon January 2015