saguaro's Journal

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TYRANNIDAE

1) Empidonax tyrant-flycatchers | standard features: olive-brown upperparts, whitish throat, light gray to faint yellowish belly, short primary projection

• Alder/Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum/trailii) has ^' faint white eyering, ^' relatively short primary projection, and olive-brown upper coloration with ^' moderately distinct chest band
• Acadian Flycatcher (E. virescens) has distinct white eyering, ^' long primary projection, ^' and olive-brown upper coloration with ^' rather indistinct chest band
• White-throated Flycatcher (E. albigularis) has distinct white eyering, very short primary projection, and ^' drab grayish upperparts ^' and ^' distinct chest band forming a contrasting white throat
• Least Flycatcher (E. minimus) has distinct white eyering, very short primary projection, and ^' drab grayish upperparts ^' with ^' indistinct chest band
• Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (E. flaviventris) has distinct white eyering, short primary projection, and warm olive upperparts and chest including a ^' yellowish throat and belly

2) Contopus tyrant-flycatchers | standard features: dusky-brown upperparts, dark lores, white wingbars, and light gray belly

• Tropical Pewee (Contopus cinereus) has ^' pale lores ^' and ^' yellowish belly; ^' bill is orange with black tip, like Eastern Wood-Pewee
• Eastern Wood-Pewee (C. virens) has dark lores and pale belly; ^' bill is orange with black tip, ^' like Tropical Pewee
• Western Wood-Pewee (C. sordidulus) has dark lores and pale belly; ^' bill is mostly black, with orange base of lower mandible
• Dark Pewee (C. lugubris) has distinct crest, dark sooty appearance and no wing bars
• Olive-sided Flycatcher (C. cooperi) has unmistakable "vested" appearance and no wing bars
• Ochraceous Pewee (C. ochraceus) is unmistakable among its genus, but easily confused with the smaller, shorter-billed Tufted Flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus)

3) Myiarchus tyrant-flycatchers

• Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus critinus) has strong chest-belly color contrast, bill with ^' orange-based lower mandible, ^' rather dark head and throat, and extensive white on inner tertials
• Nutting's Flycatcher (M. nuttingi) has weak chest-belly color contrast, an ^' all-dark bill, ^' lighter gray throat, and less white on inner tertials
• Dusky-capped Flycatcher (M. tuberculifer) is unmistakable by the sharp contrast between dark crown and gray throat
• Panama Flycatcher (M. panamensis) is unmistakable by the lack of rufous in wings and tail

4) Elaenias & Tyrannulets

• Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet is prominently crested and has indistinct white eyering, two buffy-white wingbars, and ^' white throat
• Yellow-bellied Elaenia (Elaenia flavogaster) is prominently crested and has white eyering, two white wingbars, yellowish wing edging, ^' light gray throat, ^' yellow belly, and grayish-olive-brown upperparts
• Lesser Elaenia (E. chiriquensis) is slightly crested and is almost identical to Yellow-bellied Elaenia (E. flavogaster) except has smaller crest and drabber yellow belly
• Greenish Elaenia (Myiopagis viridicata) is crestless and has ^' no wingbars ^', double-broken white eyering, whitish lores, light gray throat and breast, yellowish belly, and olive upperparts
• Mountain Elaenia (E. frantzii) is crestless and has faint yellowish eyering, ^' two whitish wingbars, ^' yellowish wing edging, and overall drab olivaceous appearance
• Torrent Tyrannulet (Serpophaga cinerea) is unmistakable due to riverine habitat
• Rough-legged Tyrannulet (Phyllomyias burmeisteri) is crestless and has ambiguous eyering, whitish lores often forming an eyeline, distinctive ^' black-and-yellow wings, ^' gray cap, olive back, and yellow belly
• Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet (Tyrannulus elatus) is crestless and has ambiguous eyering, contrasting gray head and olive-yellow underparts, stubby bill, faint dark eyeline and ^' two white wingbars
• Mouse-colored Tyrannulet (Phaeomyias murina) is crestless and has very faint eyering, thick whitish eyebrow, and ^' two thin whitish-cinnamon wingbars
• Yellow-olive Flycatcher (Tolmomyias sulphurescens) is crestless and has pale iris, prominent white eyering and supraloral stripe, ^' black-and-yellow wings ^' and relatively thick bill
• Mistletoe Tyrannulet (Zimmerius parvus) is unmistakable with dark cap and yellow wing edging
• Yellow-bellied Tyrannulet (Ornithion semiflavum) is unmistakable with distinctive gray cap, broad white supercilium, olive auriculars, bright yellow underparts, and thick vireo-like bill

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STRIGIDAE

4) Megascops screech-owls

• Bare-shanked Screech-Owl (Megascops clarkii) has rimless tawny facial disc and whitish-spotted underparts; largest screech-owl
• Tropical Screech-Owl (M. choliba) has black-rimmed light gray facial disc and "pattern of dusky, herringbone streaks on the underparts"¹
• Middle American Screech-Owl (M. guatemalae) has 2 morphs: brown morph is gray-brown to buff-brown on head & upperparts, with pale eyebrows, and the rufous morph has bright rufous coloration on head & upperparts
• Chocó Screech-Owl (M. centralis) is highly variable in coloration; very similar to Tropical Screech-Owl (M. choliba) but is smaller, darker, more mottled, and less definitely streaked"²

1. Greeney, H. F. and J. F. Freile (2020). Choco Screech-Owl (Megascops centralis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, B. K. Keeney, P. G. Rodewald, and T. S. Schulenberg, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
2. Ong, G. (2020). Tropical Screech-Owl (Megascops choliba), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.