The Venezuelan flycatcher (''Myiarchus venezuelensis'') is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the

tyrant flycatcher The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) comprise a family of passerine birds which is found virtually throughout North and South America. It is the world's largest family of birds, with more than 400 species, and is the most diverse avian family i ...

family. It was formerly considered to be a race of the

short-crested flycatcher The short-crested flycatcher (''Myiarchus ferox'') is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venez ...

, ''Myiarchus ferox'', but the two species overlap without interbreeding in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and the calls are different. It breeds in forest and deciduous woodland in northeastern

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, northern Venezuela and

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

. The nest is built in a tree cavity. Adult Venezuelan flycatchers are 19 cm long and weigh 24.4g. The upperparts are brown, with the head and short crest darker than the back. The breast is grey and the belly is yellow. The brown tail feathers and wings have narrow rufous outer webs. Sexes are similar, but young birds have broader rufous edgings. This species is best separated from other confusingly similar ''Myiarchus'' species by its call, a whistled ''wheeerrrr''. The Venezuelan flycatcher is

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores we ...

and catches its prey amongst the higher branches of trees.

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1271366 Venezuelan flycatcher Birds of Venezuela Venezuelan flycatcher Venezuelan flycatcher