Adult. Photo: Morris Finkelstein/Audubon Photography Awards
Pitangus sulphuratus
| Conservation status | Numbers stable or increasing in Texas. May be increasing and spreading in tropics as rain forest is cut, as it does well around clearings, edges, and second growth. |
|---|---|
| Family | Tyrant Flycatchers |
| Habitat | Streamside thickets, groves, orchards, towns. In its limited Texas range, found most commonly in open woodlands near water, but may occur in any habitat with good-sized trees. In the tropics, occurs widely in many semi-open habitats, usually avoiding dense unbroken forest. |
Forages in various ways. Often flies out from a perch to catch flying insects in the air. Will perch on branch low over water and then plunge into water for fish, tadpoles, or insects. Often hops about in trees and shrubs to eat berries.
4, sometimes 2-5. Creamy white, dotted with dark brown and lavender. Details of incubation are not well known. Young: Apparently both adults help to feed the young in the nest. Development of young and age at first flight not well known.
Apparently both adults help to feed the young in the nest. Development of young and age at first flight not well known.
Omnivorous. Feeds mostly on large insects, such as beetles, wasps, grasshoppers, bees, and moths; but also eats lizards, mice, baby birds, frogs, tadpoles, and small fish. Also eats many berries and small fruits, and some seeds.
Breeding behavior is not well known. Both members of pair actively defend nesting territory against intruders of their own species, and are quick to mob any predators that come close. Nest site is usually among dense branches of a tree or large shrub, 6-50' above the ground, usually 10-20' up. Nest is a large bulky structure, more or less round, with the entrance on the side. Nest is built of grass, weeds, strips of bark, Spanish moss, and other plant fibers, and lined with fine grasses.
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