Tropical Pewee - Contopus cinereus

Tropical Pewee Contopus cinereus

Brazilian name: Papa-moscas-cinzento

Bahia, Brazil

The Tropical Pewee is found from Mexico to northern Colombia and Venezuela, in the Guianas and round the mouth of the Amazon and in eastern and central Brazil to Bolivia and eastern Paraguay. The subspecies C. c. punensis found in western Ecuador and Peru is given species status as Tumbes Pewee by Ridgely & Greenfield but not by Clements & Shany. It is absent from most of Amazonia.

It is grey above with two whitish wing-bars. The mandible is yellow, the throat whitish, the breast and flanks are grey while the mid-belly is whitish to pale yellow. Most subspecies have whitish lores but the nominate subspecies found in south-east Brazil and pictured here does not have this feature and is darker overall than the other subspecies. Fortunately, this darker race of Tropical Pewee does not seem to exist in the same areas as Blackish Pewee Contopus nigrescens where the two might be confused although Tropical Pewee has more prominent wing-bars and the dull-yellow mid-belly.

They are found in forest borders and shrubby clearings where they sally for flying insects from an exposed perch to which they return frequently often shivering their tails after landing.

There are recordings on xeno-canto, a distribution map from NatureServe and additional information available via Avibase. There is also a page with excellent photos on Wikiaves.

Tropical Pewee, Serra Bonita, Camacan, Bahia, Brazil, November 2008 - click for larger image

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