These birds live in many places.
They come in many colors. Some are brown and some are bright. They like to eat bugs.
They are very good at catching food. Do you like to watch birds?
Many birds belong to one big family.
These birds live in North and South America. They come in many shapes and colors. Some are brown to hide in trees. Others are bright red or yellow.
Most of these birds eat bugs. Some fly up to catch a bug. Then they fly back to their branch.
Some birds in this family are very tiny. They are the smallest birds in the world. These birds are truly amazing to see.
Tyrant flycatchers are a very large family of birds. They live across North and South America. There are more than 400 different species in this group.
They come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. Many look plain with brown or gray feathers. This helps them hide.
Other birds are very bright. The vermilion flycatcher is bright red. Some others are yellow or blue.
Most of these birds eat insects. Many use a way of feeding called sallying. They sit on a branch and fly up to catch a bug. Then they fly right back to their branch.
Some larger birds eat fruit or small frogs too. Some birds are very small. The pygmy tyrants are among the smallest birds on Earth. They can look like tiny balls of feathers.
The largest is the great shrike-tyrant. It is much bigger than the tiny pygmy birds.
Tyrant flycatchers are a massive group of birds. They belong to the family Tyrannidae. This is the largest bird family in the world.
There are more than 400 different species in this group. These birds live all over North and South America. They are very common in most places. In fact, they are the most diverse bird family in almost every country in the Americas. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada.
These birds have many different ways of living. Most of them eat insects. This way of eating is called being insectivorous. Many species use a method called sallying to find food. A bird will sit on a perch. It then flies out to catch an insect in the air. After the catch, it flies right back to the same perch.
Other birds like to glean. This means they pick insects off of leaves or bark. Some larger birds, like the great kiskadee, eat fruit or small frogs too.
Scientists have studied these birds for a long time. The name comes from a naturalist named Mark Catesby. In the 1730s, he called the eastern kingbird "the tyrant." Later, Carl Linnaeus used that name for the whole family.
The family has grown as we learn more. It now includes 441 species in 104 different genera. Some birds used to be in this family but moved to a new group called Tityridae. This happened because new evidence showed they were not close relatives.
Tyrant flycatchers come in all sorts of sizes. The smallest are the pygmy tyrants. The short-tailed pygmy tyrant and black-capped pygmy tyrant are very tiny. They are among the smallest birds on Earth. They are so small they look like tiny balls of feathers.
On the other side, the great shrike-tyrant is the largest. Some birds like the fork-tailed flycatcher have very long tails. Their tails can be up to 15 centimeters long. This makes them look much bigger than they really are.
Most of these birds have plain colors like brown or gray. This helps them hide from predators.
However, some are very bright. The vermilion flycatcher is a bright red color. Some others are yellow, blue, or black. You can find them in many places. They live in thick forests and open grasslands. Some live in the Atlantic Forest or the Chocó.
Even though they are found in many places, some species are in danger. For example, the Minas Gerais tyrannulet is critically endangered in Brazil.
The tyrant flycatchers belong to the family Tyrannidae. This is the largest family of birds in the entire world. It includes more than 400 different species. These birds live throughout North and South America. They are the most diverse bird family in almost every country in the Americas. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada.
Members of this family belong to the suborder Tyranni. These are known as suboscines. This means they lack the sophisticated vocal capabilities found in songbirds, or oscines. The family name comes from the naturalist Mark Catesby. In the 1730s, he described the eastern kingbird as "the tyrant." Later, Carl Linnaeus adopted this name for the whole family. Today, the family contains 441 species divided into 104 different genera.
Tyrant flycatchers show incredible variety in their physical appearance. Most species have plain colors like brown, gray, or white. This plumage often provides camouflage to help them hide. However, some species are very bright. The vermilion flycatcher is a striking red. Other species, like the many-colored rush-tyrant, show blue, black, white, and yellow. Some flycatchers have bright yellow underparts or erectile crests on their heads.
Their feeding habits are also quite diverse. Most species are insectivorous, meaning they eat insects. Many North American species use a "sallying" style. A bird flies from a perch to catch an insect in the air. It then returns immediately to the same perch. In the tropics, many species prefer to glean. This means they pick insects off of leaves or bark. Larger birds, such as the great kiskadee, may also eat fruit or small vertebrates like frogs.
Size variation within the family is extreme. The smallest members are the pygmy tyrants. The short-tailed pygmy tyrant and black-capped pygmy tyrant are among the smallest passerines on Earth. They are so tiny they often look like small balls or insects. On the other end of the scale is the great shrike-tyrant. Some birds, like the fork-tailed flycatcher, have very long tails. The fork-tailed flycatcher has the longest tail feathers of any bird relative to its size.
These birds live in almost every land habitat in the Americas. However, the number of species varies by location. Tropical lowland evergreen forests and montane evergreen forests have the highest diversity. In these forests, you can find up to 90 species. Other areas, like northern temperate grasslands, have much lower diversity. Some habitats might only host a single digit of species. The Atlantic Forest and the Chocó regions are particularly rich in species.
Conservation is an important issue for many species. While the northern beardless tyrannulet is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, others face risks. In Brazil, the Minas Gerais tyrannulet and Kaempfer's tody-tyrant are considered critically endangered. In 2007, seven species were listed as endangered and eighteen were listed as vulnerable. Protecting these diverse habitats is vital for their survival.
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