Black-billed shrike-tyrant

Photo by Diego Ferrer (Los Que Se Van)

Common name:
black-billed shrike-tyrant (en); gaúcho-de-bico-preto (pt); gaucho à bec noir (fr); gaucho serrano (es); schwarzschnabel-hakentyrann (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Tyrannidae

Range:
This species is found along the Andes, from southern Colombia south to central Chile and southern Argentina, and also in other highland areas of central and southern Argentina.

Size:
These birds are 23-25 cm long.

Habitat:
The black-billed shrike-tyrant is mostly found in high-altitude scrublands and grasslands, also using rocky areas, pastures, arable land and urban areas. They occur at altitudes of 2.000-4.500 m.

Diet:
They feed on large insects, small mammals, lizards, frogs, eggs or nestlings of other birds, and seeds.

Breeding:
Black-billed shrike-tyrants breed in September-January. The nest is a cup made of dry grasses and twigs, placed among rocks or in rock crevices both on flat ground and on cliffs. The female lays 2-3 creamy-white eggs with fine brown spots, which she incubates alone for 15-17 days. The chicks are fed by both parents but there is no available information regarding the length of the fledging period.

Conservation:
IUCN status – LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range but is described as uncommon. This population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.