ML132926251

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

This was a relatively small flycatcher with a short and noticeably slim bill, a slightly crested appearance, a plump body, relatively long wings, and a medium-length tail. The bill tapered from a slim base to a pointed tip along a straight culmen. It also would have extended backward on the face to the middle of the auriculars, so for a flycatcher, this bird appeared to be relatively short-billed. The forehead was relatively steep and it met the crown at a rounded junction, behind which the crown had a flattened appearance back to the nape, at which there was a weak and somewhat rounded crest. The head was of medium-size and the neck was unremarkable, but the body was relatively plump and, overall, this bird had a diagonal posture. The wings were at least relatively long, with the slim, tapered wingtips having a primary projection that was more than half the length of the exposed secondaries, yet I failed to notice to what point the wingtips reached relative to the tail. The tail was about as long as the body without the head, and thus not overly long for a flycatcher. It was also slightly flared and double-rounded at the tip. I thought the legs were relatively short and slim. Although this bird's patterns were bold, it was the coloration that really made it striking. The cap was a brilliant, fire-red color from the forehead back across the crown to the nape, and then down to the supraloral region, the upper edge of the eye, and the auriculars. Contrasting with the cap, was the dusky color of the facemask, the back of the neck, and the back, wings, and tail. I also noticed this dark coloration as a small wedge in the lores that extended narrowly under the eye, across the auriculars, and then onto the back and sides of the neck. I did not notice at which point the lower edge of the dark mask met the bill, but it was quite narrow below the eye, and it seemed to extend backward right along the lower edge of the auriculars. The back and scapulars were uniformly sooty, though not quite either black or dark brown. The wings were about the same color, but the median coverts had pale gray fringes that produced a scaly upper wingbar, and the greater coverts had tips of a similar color that produced a lower wingbar that extended straight across the wing. I think the latter feathers were also edged with this same color, but these edges were sufficiently thin to be inconspicuous. The remiges likewise had paler fringes, but they too were narrow and inconspicuous. I did not notice paler fringes on the tail, but I did not see the upperside particularly well. Contrasting sharply with the dark upperparts, the underparts were entirely and uniformly the same shade of bright, fire-red as the cap from the chin and throat down across the breast, belly, sides, flanks, and undertail coverts. The throat was also broadly red, given that this color extended up onto the lower part of the face before merging sharply with the dark mask along the lower edges of the moustachial and auricular regions. The underside of the tail, however, was uniformly dark. The bill, legs, and feet were black, but I noted only that the eyes were dark.

Technical information

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