Black-chested Tyrant Taeniotriccus andrei

Few small Tyrannidae ‘pack the punch’ of the Black-chested Tyrant. The species’ striking black, red, and yellow plumage, and apparent great rarity made it one of the most sought-after birds in Amazonia for many years, and it remained almost unknown in life until very recently. However, on current knowledge, it seems to be reasonably widespread, if local, over northern and southeast Amazonia, from northeast Venezuela south, apparently discontinuously, through Brazil as far as Maranhão, Pará, and northern Mato Grosso. It favors the vine-tangled understory of evergreen forest and its edges, perhaps especially in seasonally flooded areas, and the Black-chested Tyrant might even prove to be a beneficiary of modest amounts of disturbance, as this has the result of creating the lower, denser vegetation it prefers. As is so often the case, the key to revolutionizing our understanding has been knowledge of the species’ voice; this case is a distinctive but rather frog-like, short chewp note is the most frequently given call.