Cinereous Ground Tyrant - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Stanley Jones
Western slope of the Central Andes, Ticlio Pass, Lima, Peru, August 2017

Muscisaxicola cinereus

Identification

16·5 cm (6½ in)

• Narrow white supercilium
• Dusky lores
• Greyish-brown upperparts; wings darker
• Pale edges to wing-coverts

Distribution

South America: found in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.

Taxonomy

In the past, this species has been considered a part of Plain-capped Ground-Tyrant; there are indications that subspecies argentinus might still belong with that species.
The scientific name has changed from cinerea to cinereus.

Subspecies

There are 2 subspecies^[1]:

• M. c. cinereus:

• Andes of southern Peru (Puno) to western Bolivia, northern Chile and northern Argentina

• M. c. argentinus:

• Andes of north-western Argentina (Jujuy to Catamarca and Tucumán)

Habitat

Puna grassland. Montane scrub; rocky pastures near water sources (rivers, streams, bogs etc).

Behaviour

Diet

Their main diet consists of insects, mostly taken on the ground in short runs and hops.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Sept 2017)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Cinereous Ground Tyrant. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 7 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Cinereous_Ground_Tyrant

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