The bran-colored flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama, on Trinidad, and in every mainland South American country except Chile.
Region
Central and South America
Typical Environment
Occurs from Costa Rica and Panama through most of mainland South America, including Trinidad, in a wide range of wooded habitats. It favors forest edges, second growth, riparian thickets, and clearings with scattered trees, and it also uses coffee and cacao plantations and gardens with tall shrubs. Typically forages in the lower to mid-levels, especially along shaded edges and gaps. It is generally common where suitable semi-open woodland persists.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The bran-colored flycatcher is one of the most widespread small tyrant flycatchers in the Neotropics, yet it often goes unnoticed due to its subdued plumage and quiet behavior. It frequently sallies from low, shaded perches to snatch small insects, flicking its tail between forays. Multiple subspecies show subtle regional variation in tone and contrast of the wingbars and underparts.
Bran-coloured Flycatcher
Temperament
quiet and unobtrusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief sallies
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, often holding small feeding territories along edges and clearings. Builds a small cup nest placed low to mid-level in forks or dense foliage; both parents tend the young. Sometimes joins mixed-species flocks in second growth or forest edge.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are soft and high-pitched, consisting of thin tsee or tseet notes and short, delicate trills. Calls are often given from shaded perches and can be easily overlooked amid insect noise.
Plumage
Plain brown to rufescent-brown upperparts with two buff wingbars, paler throat, and dingy buff to yellowish underparts sometimes with faint streaking on the breast. Tail and flight feathers may show rufous edging; overall appearance is small, compact, and rather drab.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small flying insects such as flies, beetles, and flying ants, which it captures in short sallies from low perches. Also gleans tiny arthropods from leaves and twigs. Foraging is methodical, with frequent pauses and tail flicks between brief aerial sorties.
Preferred Environment
Most often hunts along forest edges, light gaps, riparian thickets, and shrubby clearings. Readily uses semi-open agricultural mosaics like shade coffee and cacao where trees and hedgerows provide perches.
