Appearance

Tody-flycatchers of the genus Poecilotriccus are small bodied, short tailed tyrant flycatchers with long, flattened bills. They resemble tody-flycatchers of the genus Todirostrum, but the bills of Poecilotriccus are shorter and narrower, and Poecilotriccus do not cock the tail, as do many species of Todirostrum. Golden-winged Tody-Flycatcher is a very attractive, well marked species, with a black head and black wings, white throat, olive back, and bright yellow breast and belly. It also has chestnut lesser wing coverts and a broad, bright yellow wing bar across the median wing coverts. The sexes are similar.

Golden-winged Tody-Flycatcher has a very distinctive appearance and would be difficult to confuse with any other species. It is most similar to Black-backed Tody-Flycatcher (Poecilotriccus pulchellus), but as the name suggests, the entire upperparts of Black-backed are black. Black-backed also has a small white spot behind the eye and a white submoustachial stripe. These two species are completely allopatric, as Black-backed is restricted to southern Peru. Common Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum cinereum) lacks the bold wing pattern of Golden-winged, has less contrast between the crown and the back, has a pale iris, and is not restricted to dense understory.

The following description is based on examination of specimens in the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science:

Adult: Sexes similar. Crown, sides of head, and nape black; back and rump olive green, sharply demarcated from the black of the head. Lesser wing coverts chestnut; median wing coverts bright yellow, forming a prominent yellow wingbar. Remiges black; the inner remiges are edged with yellowish white. Rectrices black. Throat white; breast and belly bright yellow.

Juvenile: Undescribed?

Undescribed.

Iris: brown

Bill: black

Tarsi and toes: blue gray

Bare parts color data from specimens in the Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science.

Total length: 9.5 cm (Ridgely and Greenfield 2001b), 9.7 cm (Hilty and Brown 1986)

Mass: mean 6.0 g (range 5.9-6.2 g, n = 2, females; Cardiff 1983)