Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant Myiornis atricapillus

Black-capped Pygmy-Tyrant is an attractive, but not easily spotted, tyrant flycatcher. This diminutive bird is resident from Nicaragua south to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, at elevations below 900 m. This pygmy-tyrant prefers the lower and middle stories of humid forest, but can also range to the canopy, where its tiny size necessitates would-be observers learn its insect-like vocalization. It is somewhat unusual among tyrant flycatchers in that males and females are readily separated on plumage, as only males possess the black crown; the head is mainly gray in females. The rest of the plumage is basically identical to that of its sister species, Short-tailed Pygmy-Tyrant (Myiornis ecaudatus) of Amazonia. The two species are in fact equally short-tailed.