Buff-breasted tody-tyrant  (Hemitriccus mirandae)

The buff-breasted tody-tyrant is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List (1).

As it has been recorded at only a few scattered localities, very little is known about the elusive buff-breasted tody-tyrant (Hemitriccus mirandae) (3). This mysterious small flycatcher has a darkish olive crown and underparts, dusky olive wings and a tail fringed with yellowish olive (4). The cheeks, throat and breast are a pale creamy buff, blending into pale yellow on the feathers beneath the tail (4). The buff-breasted tody-tyrant has cinnamon coloured eyes (2) and greyish legs (4). The male and female buff-breasted tody-tyrants are similar in appearance (5).

The calls of the buff-breasted tody-tyrant have been described as a slightly ascending set of six or seven notes, ‘kt-kit-kit-kiit-kiit-kiiit-kit’ (4), and a group of three short, squeaky sounds, ‘chweet chweet chweet’ (2).

The buff-breasted tody-tyrant is endemic to north-east Brazil, where it has been sighted in the states of Caerá, Alagoas, Paraiba and Pernambuco (2).

The buff-breasted tody-tyrant inhabits semi-humid forest and shrubby secondary forest concentrated on isolated ridges (4), at elevations between 600 and 900 metres (2). It has also been found in the understory of both humid and dry forests (2).

Arthropods form the bulk of this small bird’s diet (2). The buff-breasted tody-tyrant typically perches motionless within a tangle of thick vines, two to five metres off the ground (6), before making a quick upward strike to capture prey from the underside of a leaf (4). The buff-breasted tody-tyrant is usually found singly or in pairs (7).

Little is known about the breeding biology of the buff-breasted tody-tyrant, or even other species in the Hemitriccus genus. In general, birds in the Tyrannidae family are monogamous with both parents defending a territory and feeding the young (6).

The buff-breasted tody-tyrant is yet another casualty of the extensive deforestation taking place in Brazil. It was estimated in 2010 that between 2,500 and 9,000 individuals remained, but there could be as few as 1,000 (2), and numbers are believed to be declining (2).

Much of the forest habitat was originally cleared for growing ‘sun’ coffee in the early 1970s and more recently for sugar cane (4). The remaining forest is threatened by residential and commercial development, logging for firewood, and fires (2) (4).

Climate change also poses a long-term threat to the buff-breasted tody-tyrant, as it is likely to alter its habitat (2) (8).

The buff-breasted tody-tyrant occurs in a number of protected areas, such as the Baturite State Environmental Protection Area, the Tapacura Ecological Station and Pedra Talhada Biological Reserve (4). Reforestation with native trees is taking place in the Pedra Talhada Biological Reserve and protection is enforced by guards (2).

The continuation of these conservation efforts is vital for this endangered bird, but other areas of important habitat should also be protected to ensure the survival of the buff-breasted tody-tyrant (2). 

Learn more about bird conservation:

• BirdLife International:
  http://www.birdlife.org/

Find out more about conservation in Brazil:

• Conservation International:
  http://www.conservation.org/explore/south_america/brazil
• WWF:
  http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/brazil