The whiskered myiobius or bearded flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Onychorhynchidae, having previously been included in Tyrannidae and Tityridae. Some taxonomic authorities continue to place them with the flycatchers or tityras. The whiskered myiobius is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and heavily degraded former forest.
Region
Amazon Basin and Guiana Shield
Typical Environment
Occurs in northern Amazonia across Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It favors subtropical and tropical moist lowland forest, especially mature terra firme and seasonally flooded varzea. The species also uses forest edges, gallery forest, and secondary growth, and can persist in heavily degraded former forest where some understory cover remains. Most records are from the shaded understory and midstory, often near streams or clearings.
Altitude Range
0–1000 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called the bearded flycatcher, this small Neotropical bird is named for the prominent whisker-like rictal bristles around its bill. It has had a complex taxonomic history and is currently placed by many authorities in Onychorhynchidae, though some still keep it among the tyrant flycatchers. It typically keeps to the shaded understory and edges of humid lowland forests, where it hunts quietly from low perches.
Temperament
quiet and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick sallies from low perches
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs in the breeding season; occasionally joins mixed-species understory flocks while foraging. Likely monogamous, nesting low to mid-level in dense vegetation. As with related taxa, it is believed to build elongated, pendant nests suspended over water or well-concealed sites, and the clutch is small.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations are soft and thin, consisting of high, sibilant notes and brief trills delivered infrequently. Calls are subtle contact notes used while foraging in dense cover. The song can be easily overlooked amid louder forest birds.
Plumage
Subtly colored with olive-brown upperparts and warmer brown wings, a paler buffy to yellowish underbody, and a slightly paler throat. Texture is smooth and fairly plain, with minimal streaking. The bill is surrounded by elongated rictal bristles that form a whiskered or bearded look.
Diet
Primarily small flying and crawling insects such as flies, beetles, moths, and orthopterans. It also takes spiders and other small arthropods. Prey is captured by short sallies from a perch or by gleaning from leaves and twigs. It occasionally hovers briefly to pick prey from foliage.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in the shaded understory and lower midstory of humid lowland forests. Often works along forest edges, stream margins, gaps, and along trails where insects are concentrated. Will use secondary growth and disturbed forest if sufficient cover remains.
