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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Flycatcher - Colombian Amazon (1 Viewer)

As far as I know, Gray Flycatcher only migrates south to Mexico. The expected Empid in Leticia would be Alder.
Though, I'm wondering if I'm overlooking one of these weird Cnemotriccus/Lathrotriccus, etc
 
Alder/Willow Fly for me. I'm no expert on Amazonian or Colombian distribution of the two, and I would question "expected" species in some cases here - shy of a calling bird or excellent evidence, "expected species" get reported as the "expected species" and you get a chain of circular logic that might not be based in anything terribly authoritative.

As far as the other suggestions:
Cnemotriccus (Fuscous Fly - cabanisi subsp I believe in Leticia, in any case not duidae) is a different bird. This bird lacks any hint of warm tones / rufous in the wing bars or secondary panel, breast is too clean, doesn't have a superciliary, no warm tones to the facial markings, bill is too short and thick and perhaps not enough of a hook, tail is too short and seems to lack any hint of a small notch.

Lathrotriccus (Euler's by range) is a better fit structurally. However this bird lacks almost any hint of the expected warmer tawny / olivaceous / brown tones above, doesn't have a terribly marked breast, doesn't seem to show any warmth to the outer retrices, has a dark mandible on a perhaps too short bill. I also feel like Euler's is more bull-headed looking than Empids generally are. It lacks any warmth or tawny tones in the wing bars, and the yellowish undertail covert wash strikes me as something I've never seen on Euler's anywhere in its range.
 
Agree it's alder/willow. Also that you can't be sure which. If you had to put a name to it you might go with alder based on some things like clear eye ring, slightly greenish back, seems round headed etc etc
 
Agree it's alder/willow. Also that you can't be sure which. If you had to put a name to it you might go with alder based on some things like clear eye ring, slightly greenish back, seems round headed etc etc
Thanks. I was focusing the start of my trip on austral migrants, and had Small-billed Elaenia in mind. It does look a bit like some photos of that species, such as the last one on eBird or this one from Paraguay: http://www.faunaparaguay.com/images/Elaenia parvirostris 2 bars lagbla nov05.jpg
But I agree overall it looks more like a Empidonax than an Elaenia and I am glad I checked here because I wasn't thinking of Empidonax at all.
 
To say it's Alder from sight alone is virtually impossible except for an extremely experienced ID expert who has been studying Empids for years.
 
Elaenias frequently / usually show the upper wing bar as a string of dots and not as clean / uniform as Empids. They also, to my eye, are a bit longer bodied and smaller headed. Bill is very slightly decurved and a bit smaller (though one photo can always be deceiving). Small-billed Elaenia frequently (though not always) shows a third wing bar. The chest also looks too smudgy, to my eye, for SB Elaenia.

All with the caveats that single photos can be deceiving of course - but I take this as an Empid without controversy.
 
Thanks. I was focusing the start of my trip on austral migrants, and had Small-billed Elaenia in mind. It does look a bit like some photos of that species, such as the last one on eBird or this one from Paraguay: http://www.faunaparaguay.com/images/Elaenia parvirostris 2 bars lagbla nov05.jpg
But I agree overall it looks more like a Empidonax than an Elaenia and I am glad I checked here because I wasn't thinking of Empidonax at all.
Well yes. Also looks a little like grey elaenia. Such be the joys of
Elaenias frequently / usually show the upper wing bar as a string of dots and not as clean / uniform as Empids. They also, to my eye, are a bit longer bodied and smaller headed. Bill is very slightly decurved and a bit smaller (though one photo can always be deceiving). Small-billed Elaenia frequently (though not always) shows a third wing bar. The chest also looks too smudgy, to my eye, for SB Elaenia.

All with the caveats that single photos can be deceiving of course - but I take this as an Empid without controversy.
Yes I agree it is. I'm only pointing out they all look confusingly similar.
 
No doubt! I also took a good look at it to double check that I wasn't mistaking a Gray, Forest, or Small-billed Elaenia.

Seeing a bird well in the field is frequently less confusing than even one good photo can be, particularly for birds where giss / posture / behavior unconsciously clues you in so much.
 
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