From Opus

Photo by Steve G
Male on left, female on right.

Arundinicola leucocephala

[edit] Identification

5" (13cm). Slightly crested. Male unmistakable: blackish brown with entire head and upper chest white; lower mandible yellow. Female very different: pale greyish brown above, wings and tail darker; forecrown, sides of head, and underparts white; breast with a few indistinct greyish streaks.

[edit] Similar species

Female most likely to be confused with immature Pied Water-Tyrant.

[edit] Distribution

North Colombia to the Guianas and east of Andes to Bolivia, Uruguay, and southeast Brazil. Trinidad.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic.

[edit] Habitat

Marshes and wetland.

[edit] Behaviour

The diet includes insects. Voice: Usually quiet. Call a high-pitched tzeek. The nest is a feather-lined oval ball of grasses and other plant material, with a porched side entrance. It is placed at the end of a branch near or over water. 2-3 creamy-white eggs, which are marked with a few brown spots are laid and incubated by both sexes.

[edit] External Links