Bird Guide

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant vs Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca rufipectoralis)

Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant

Ochthoeca rufipectoralis

Tiny10 gForest

The rufous-breasted chat-tyrant is 12.5 to 14 cm (4.9 to 5.5 in) long and weighs about 13 g (0.46 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies O. r. rufipectoralis have a sooty brown head with white above the bill that extends into a long wide white supercilium. Their upperparts are brown to sooty brown. Their wings are blackish with faint rufous or cinnamon-buff edges on the secondaries and tertials. Their tail is blackish with thin white edges on the outermost feathers. Voice: The rufous-breasted chat-tyrant's day song differs somewhat among the subspecies. The nominate subspecies' is "a high buzzy phrased followed by a buzzy whistle, in series: tsi'jiot tzee...tsi'jit tzee.... In Colombia it is "an abrupt ch-brrr, ch-brrr, ch-brrr".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call, calls · Azuay: Cañayacu 7 km NNE Chaucha, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: sandyespinoza · CC BY 4.0
Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant (Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris)

Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant

Ochthoeca cinnamomeiventris

Tiny12 gShrubland

The slaty-backed chat-tyrant is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long and weighs 11 to 13 g (0.39 to 0.46 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a dark slaty gray head with a white supercilium. Their upperparts and tail are dark slaty gray to blackish. Their wings are slightly browner than the back. Their breast and belly are deep dark chestnut or reddish brown, their flanks dark gray, and their vent and the middle of their lower belly are buffy white. They have a dark brown or blackish iris, a short, thin, black bill, and blackish to dark dusky gray legs and feet. Voice: The slaty-backed chat-tyrant's day song, or perhaps call, is "a high-pitched, sharp, and surprisingly loud dzweeéyeeuw, often tirelessly repeated". Its dawn song is the same vocalization "followed by 3-4 tseét notes". "Despite (or thanks to) its simplicity, perfectly audible above rushing torrents, where this species is usually found."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Morona-Santiago: mid Gualaceo-Limón road, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Esteban Poveda · CC BY 4.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Rufous-breasted Chat-Tyrant and Slaty-backed Chat-Tyrant.