Ochthoeca salvini
The Tumbes Tyrant (Ochthoeca salvini) is a captivating, small flycatcher endemic to the humid montane forests of the Tumbesian region in southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. Measuring approximately 11-12 cm in length, this species sports a distinctive slate-gray crown and upperparts, sharply contrasted by a bright white supercilium that extends from above the eye to the rear of the ear coverts. Its dark wings are adorned with two prominent white wing-bars, providing key identification ...
Found primarily in humid montane evergreen forests, forest borders, and clearings with scattered trees. It typically occurs at elevations ranging from 600 to 1900 meters above sea level.
Its diet consists almost exclusively of insects, which it primarily captures by agile aerial hawking from strategic perches.
The Tumbes Tyrant is a diurnal and highly active species, often observed singly or in pairs, frequently joining mixed-species foraging flocks, particularly with tanagers and other insectivores. Its foraging strategy involves sallying forth from exposed perches within the subcanopy or canopy to sn...
The Tumbes Tyrant is strictly endemic to the Tumbesian region, spanning southwestern Ecuador and northwestern Peru. In Ecuador, its distribution includes the provinces of El Oro, Loja, and Zamora-Chinchipe. Its Peruvian range extends through the departments of Tumbes, Piura, Lambayeque, and Cajam...
Least Concern
- The Tumbes Tyrant is an 'Andean endemic' confined to a unique biogeographical region known as the Tumbesian dry forest and adjacent humid montane forests. - Its scientific name, *salvini*, honors Osbert Salvin, a prominent 19th-century English naturalist. - Despite its relatively small range, t...