The ochre-lored flatbill or yellow-breasted flycatcher, is a passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.
Region
Northern South America and southern Central America
Typical Environment
Occurs from Panama through northern South America, including the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, northern Brazil, Bolivia, and Trinidad and Tobago. It favors lowland tropical forests, forest edges, riverine and gallery forests, mangroves, and second-growth thickets. The species thrives in disturbed and semi-open habitats with ample foliage. It typically forages from the understory to midstory, often along sunlit edges and along streams.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This small tyrant flycatcher is often identified more easily by voice than by looks, with regional variations in its clear whistles. It commonly forages in pairs and joins mixed-species flocks along forest edges and secondary growth. Like several Tolmomyias, it builds a hanging, purse-shaped nest and often places it near wasp nests, possibly for protection.
Temperament
cryptic but active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief sallies among foliage
Social Behavior
Usually found in pairs and frequently associates with mixed-species foraging flocks. Pairs maintain territories and build a hanging, purse-shaped nest often suspended over water or near wasp nests. Both sexes participate in nest defense and parental care.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Gives clear, whistled phrases and sharp call notes, often repeated in a measured cadence. Vocalizations vary geographically and are key to separating it from similar Tolmomyias species.
Plumage
Olive-green upperparts with dusky wings edged yellowish; underparts yellow to ochre-yellow with paler throat. Face shows an ochre-colored lores patch and a subtle pale eye-ring. Bill is broad and flat, dark above with paler base below.
Diet
Primarily eats small insects and other arthropods, including beetles, flies, caterpillars, and spiders. It gleans prey from leaves and twigs and makes short sallies to snatch insects mid-air. Occasionally it may take small berries, but animal prey dominates the diet.
Preferred Environment
Forages in the understory to midstory along forest edges, second growth, and riparian thickets. Often works shaded tangles and vine-laden trees, especially in semi-open tropical lowlands.
