Plumbeous Tyrant
Knipolegus cabanisi
The Plumbeous Tyrant (Knipolegus cabanisi) is a rare tyrant flycatcher found in 3 countries, weighing about 18 g. The plumbeous tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers.
About the Plumbeous Tyrant
The plumbeous tyrant is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The plumbeous tyrant is 14.5 to 16.5 cm (5.7 to 6.5 in) long. Adult males are almost entirely dark slate gray above and somewhat paler below with lower belly the palest. Their wings and tail are dusky with white edges on the inner webs of the remiges. Adult females have mostly dull brown upperparts with bright rufous uppertail coverts. Their wings are dull brown with buffy white edges on the coverts that show as two wing bars. Their tail is dull brown with bright rufous edges to the feathers. Their underparts are buffy white with wide grayish olive streaks that sometimes cover the breast. Voice: As of April 2025 xeno-canto had five recordings of plumbeous tyrant vocalizations; the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library had one of them and three others. The species is mostly silent. At the peak of the display flight males utter "a rich tchick!". The species' call is "a rapid, low chirri'jurriew" that is accompanied by bill snapping.
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Peru.
When to see it
Best months: January, April, May, July, August, September, October, November, December, with peak activity in October. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Plumbeous Tyrant?
- The plumbeous tyrant is 14.5 to 16.5 cm (5.7 to 6.5 in) long. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Plumbeous Tyrant?
- The Plumbeous Tyrant is a small sized bird weighing about 18 g.
- Where can you see a Plumbeous Tyrant?
- The Plumbeous Tyrant occurs in 3 countries, including Argentina and Bolivia.
- What birds look similar to a Plumbeous Tyrant?
- The Plumbeous Tyrant is most easily confused with the Hudson's Black Tyrant, the Amazonian Black Tyrant and the Riverside Tyrant.
- Is the Plumbeous Tyrant endangered?
- The Plumbeous Tyrant is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Plumbeous Tyrant for real
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