Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant
Agriornis montanus
The Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant (Agriornis montanus) is a rare tyrant flycatcher found in 6 countries, weighing about 63 g. The black-billed shrike-tyrant is a bird species in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers.
About the Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant
The black-billed shrike-tyrant is a bird species in the Tyrannidae family, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and possibly has occurred as a vagrant to the Falkland Islands.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The black-billed shrike-tyrant is 22 to 24 cm (8.7 to 9.4 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies A. m. montanus have a whitish stripe above the lores, a buffish white broken supercilium, and brown-streaked white cheeks. Their crown and upperparts are dark grayish brown. Their wings are mostly dark grayish brown with whitish tips and edges on the inner flight feathers. Their underwing coverts are cinnamon-buff to buffy white. Their central pair of tail feathers is blackish; the rest are white with dark bases on their inner webs. Voice: The black-billed shrike-tyrant is not highly vocal but sings more frequently at dawn than during the day. Its voice has been described as "a loud, ringing wheee, wheeeu or just sheeeu." Another description calls its song "a loud, musical, whistled, rising-falling WEEYOO" and its call "a rising wee?".
What the Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant sounds like
Where it lives
When to see it
The Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant can be seen all year round, with peak activity in November. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant?
- The black-billed shrike-tyrant is 22 to 24 cm (8.7 to 9.4 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant?
- The Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant is a medium sized bird weighing about 63 g.
- Where can you see a Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant?
- The Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant occurs in 6 countries, including Chile, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.
- What does a Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant sound like?
- You can listen to a field recording of the Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant?
- The Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant is most easily confused with the Great Shrike-Tyrant, the Grey-bellied Shrike-Tyrant and the Lesser Shrike-Tyrant.
- Is the Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant endangered?
- The Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Black-billed Shrike-Tyrant for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
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