The fulvous-faced scrub tyrant, or tawny-fronted pygmy-tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Ecuador, Peru, and possibly Colombia.
Region
Northern Andes
Typical Environment
Occurs in shrubby montane slopes, dry intermontane valleys, and edges of cloud forest, chiefly in Ecuador and northern Peru, with possible occurrence in southern Colombia. It favors second growth, thorny scrub, and riparian thickets where scattered bushes and small trees provide foraging perches. The species often uses dense tangles and bamboo-like thickets for cover. It is generally local but can be fairly common where suitable scrub persists.
Altitude Range
1200–2800 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A tiny Andean flycatcher, it keeps to brushy slopes and scrub where it forages quietly at eye level. Its fulvous (tawny) face and crown make it distinctive despite its small size and retiring habits. It is often detected by its thin, high-pitched notes rather than seen.
Temperament
shy and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats between close perches
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs, quietly working through low to mid-level scrub. Pairs defend small territories and may join mixed-species flocks at forest edges. Nest is a small, well-hidden cup placed low in dense shrubs or tangles.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives thin, high-pitched tsit notes and short, sibilant trills. Song is soft and easily overlooked, often delivered from within cover.
Plumage
Small, compact flycatcher with a distinctly tawny/fulvous face and crown, olive-green upperparts, and buffy to grayish underparts. Shows faint pale wingbars and a whitish throat that contrasts with the warmer head tones. Plumage is smooth and neat, with minimal streaking.
Diet
Primarily small insects and other tiny arthropods gleaned from leaves and twigs. It makes short sallies to snatch prey and frequently hover-gleans at the edges of foliage. Occasional ingestion of minute berries may occur but is not a major food source.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in dense scrub, secondary growth, and forest-edge thickets from low shrubs up to the lower canopy. Often forages along sunny edges, riparian corridors, and among tangled vines where insects concentrate.
