Neoxolmis rufiventris
The Chocolate-vented Tyrant (*Neoxolmis rufiventris*) is a distinctive and charismatic passerine of the South American open country, immediately recognizable by its striking rufous undertail coverts that contrast with an otherwise subtle plumage. Measuring approximately 19-21 cm (7.5-8.3 inches) in length and weighing between 40-60 grams, this medium-sized tyrant flycatcher boasts brownish-grey upperparts and paler underparts, often with a faint pale supercilium. Its stout, all-black bill and...
This species favors open, arid to semi-arid grasslands, Patagonian steppes, and scrublands, often associated with rocky outcrops and sparse vegetation. It occurs from sea level up to approximately 3500 meters in its non-breeding range.
Its diet consists almost exclusively of insects, including beetles, grasshoppers, flies, and their larvae, which it primarily gleans from the ground or captures in short aerial sallies.
The Chocolate-vented Tyrant is a diurnal and often conspicuous species, typically perching on rocks, fence posts, low bushes, or even on the ground. Its primary foraging strategy involves ground-gleaning, where it walks or runs along the ground to snatch insects, but it also employs a "sally-stri...
The Chocolate-vented Tyrant exhibits a pronounced austral migratory pattern across a broad swath of southern South America. It breeds primarily in the southern Patagonian steppes and grasslands of Argentina and southern Chile, extending south to Tierra del Fuego. Following the austral summer bree...
Least Concern
- The Chocolate-vented Tyrant gets its common name from the striking rufous (chocolate-brown) undertail coverts, which are its most distinctive field mark. - It is an austral migrant, meaning it breeds in the southern reaches of South America during the austral summer and migrates north for the a...