Bird Guide

Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher vs Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher

Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum nigriceps)

Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher

Todirostrum nigriceps

Tiny7 gForest

The black-headed tody flycatcher is a small bird with a glossy black head and a white throat. The black coloring continues down the sides of the neck. It has bright yellow underparts and olive-yellow upperparts. The wings are black with two yellow wingbars and yellow streaking and the tail is short and black. Its head is relatively large, as is its straight black bill. It has dark irises and no eye-rings. Its legs are blueish-gray. The females and males have the same coloring. Adults are between 8–10.2 cm long and weigh 6–6.5 g. Voice: This species' call is a single high-pitched "peep". Its song is a series of 5 to 8 high-pitched "jyip" notes that are quickly repeated. They start evenly spaced and accelerate slightly at the end, increasing in pitch slightly. It often calls repeatedly, which can be easily confused with their song. The chirps also sound insect-like. Listen to the call Listen to the song

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Song · Esmeraldas: Canandé, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Andrew Hrycyna · CC BY 4.0
Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher (Todirostrum chrysocrotaphum)

Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher

Todirostrum chrysocrotaphum

Tiny7 gForest

The yellow-browed tody-flycatcher is 8.6 to 10 cm (3.4 to 3.9 in) long and weighs about 7 g (0.25 oz). The sexes are alike. Adults of the nominate subspecies T. c. chrysocrotaphum have a mostly black head with a white spot above the lores and a wide yellow supercilium that extends to the nape. A faint narrow yellow band separates their nape from their olive back, rump, and uppertail coverts. Their wings are black with yellow edges on the flight feathers. The wing coverts have thin yellow edges and wide yellow tips; the latter show as two wing bars. Their tail is black. Voice: The yellow-browed tody-flycatcher's song has been described as a far-carrying "series of sharp emphatic 'tsip' notes" numbering eight to twelve. Another author describes it as "an easily overlooked, insectlike high, accelerating chipping series: tchit... tchit... tchit tchit tchit tchit-tchit-tchit-tchit-tchit".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Morona-Santiago: e-slope Cord. de Cutucú: Uuntsuants, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Allan Harris · CC0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-headed Tody-Flycatcher and Yellow-browed Tody-Flycatcher.