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Mionectes oleagineusochre-bellied flycatcher

By Brenna Stokes

Geographic Range

The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher, Mionectes oleagineus, can be found south of Mexico to the west of Ecuador, Bolivia and Amazon Brazil. (Stiles and Skutch 1990)

Habitat

The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher prefers humid forests, second growth woodland, semi-open clearings with scattered trees near woodland forages, and often along forest streams. The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher can also be found in sandy-belt forests of the extreme east. (Hilty & Brown 1986; Stiles and Skutch 1990)

Physical Description

The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher is 12.5 cm (5 in) in height and weighs 13 g (.5 oz). This Flycatcher is slender and has a small head. The bill is narrow and shaped like a cylinder. Yellow or orange mouth corners are found only on males. The back of the bird is olive green. Its belly is ochre, or orange-yellow, with a touch of olive at the throat. The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher has two faint ochre wing bars which help identify it from similar species. The wings and tail are brownish and have a thin ochre color around the edges. The males' three outer wing feathers, especially the farthest, are narrowed and pointed at the tip. The young are similar to the adults except their bellies are paler and more yellow. The wing-coverts, a feather covering the bases of the quills of the wings, and the tertials, feathers closest to the body, are thinly tipped and edged with ochre. (Dunning 1987; Hilty & Brown 1986; Stiles and Skutch 1990)

  • Average mass
    13 g
    0.46 oz

Reproduction

These birds are polygamous. Courtship occurs between the months of March and July. When courting, up to six males will perch in a shaded understory, 15-50 m (50-160 ft) away from each other and start singing. The song may sound a little like this "whip wit whip wit wit chipchip chip chip chip chip," or "pik ch'wik pik ch'wik ch'wik K-WIT-K'WIT-K'WIT-K'WIT." This bird does not form pair bonds. The male will sit with the other five and wait for a female. After she has mated he will fly to another group and wait for another female. After mating the female bird is on her own. She builds and tends the nest alone and often leaves the nest to find food. She lays 2-3 white eggs. The incubation time for the eggs is 14-20 days. Fledging is 14-23 days after hatching. (Campbell and Lack 1985; Hilty & Brown 1986; Stiles and Skutch 1990)

Behavior

The Ochre-bellied Flycatcher is a solitary bird and is not noticeable except when it sings. On occasion, the bird will join mixed flocks. At times the bird will jerk one wing at a time up over the back. The female flycatcher builds her nest suspended from vines, roots, or under a stream banks. The nest is an elongated pyramid-shaped structure. There is a side entrance and the entire nest is covered by thick moss. (Hilty & Brown 1986; Stiles and Skutch 1990)

Communication and Perception

Food Habits

Unlike other flycatchers who hawk insects, the Ochre-bellied Flycatcher gleans or picks small insects off leaves from vines, mistletoes, or trees. Fruits comprise far more of this bird's diet than other flycatchers. (Campbell and Lack 1985; Hilty & Brown 1986; Stiles and Skutch 1990)

Conservation Status

Contributors

Brenna Stokes (author), Fresno City College, Carl Johansson (editor), Fresno City College.

Glossary

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

rainforest

rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

visual

uses sight to communicate

References

Campbell, B., E. Lack. 1985. A Dictionary of Birds. Vermillion, South Dakota: Buteo Books.

Dunning, J. 1987. South American Birds. Newtown Square, PA: Harrowood Books.

Hilty, S., W. Brown. 1986. Birds of Columbia. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Stiles, G., A. Skutch. 1990. A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. New York: Cornell University Press.

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