Pied Water Tyrant

Fluvicola pica

Tyrant Flycatchers and Allies · Passeriformes · Uncommon

The Pied Water Tyrant (Fluvicola pica) is a uncommon tyrant flycatcher found in 15 countries, weighing about 12 g. The pied water tyrant is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family.

Least ConcernUncommonEats invertebrateswetlanddome nest12 g

About the Pied Water Tyrant

The pied water tyrant is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, and Venezuela, as a vagrant to Ecuador and possibly other areas as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

The pied water tyrant is 12.5 to 13.5 cm (4.9 to 5.3 in) long and weighs 11 to 16 g (0.39 to 0.56 oz). Both sexes have prominent rictal bristles. Adult males are mostly white. They have a black hindcrown and nape, a mottled black and white back, black wings with small white tips on the tertials, and a black tail with small white tips. They have entirely white underparts. Females have brownish mixed with the black on the hindcrown, nape, and back. Both sexes have a dark iris, a sharply hooked black bill, and black legs and feet. Voice: What is thought to be the pied water tyrant's song is "a slightly buzzy choo-wer over and over". Its calls include "a short, nasal dreéeap! a soft pic like a bubble bursting". The dreéeap! call is usually made at dawn or dusk, and the bird sometimes jumps straight up as high as 1 m (3 ft) during it.

Where it lives

When to see it

The Pied Water Tyrant can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Pied Water Tyrant?
The pied water tyrant is 12.5 to 13.5 cm (4.9 to 5.3 in) long and weighs 11 to 16 g (0.39 to 0.56 oz). Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Pied Water Tyrant?
The Pied Water Tyrant is a tiny sized bird weighing about 12 g.
Where can you see a Pied Water Tyrant?
The Pied Water Tyrant occurs in 15 countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Trinidad & Tobago.
What birds look similar to a Pied Water Tyrant?
The Pied Water Tyrant is most easily confused with the Masked Water Tyrant.
Is the Pied Water Tyrant endangered?
The Pied Water Tyrant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Pied Water Tyrant for real

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