Brownish twistwing
The brownish twistwing is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The brownish twistwing was originally described in 1860 as Cyclorhynchus subbrunneus. It eventually acquired the English name "brownish flycatcher" and still later was called "brown flycatcher" by a few authors. Following suggestions put forward in 1994 taxonomists gradually adopted the name brownish twistwing. It was the sole member of genus Cnipodectes until the rufous twistwing was described in 2007.The brownish twistwing has two subspecies, the nominate C. s. subbrunneus and C. s. minor.
Description
The brownish twistwing is long. The sexes have almost the same plumage; males are larger than females. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly dull brown. They have a slight grayish tinge on the crown, buff lores, and prominent rictal bristles. Their wings are somewhat duskier with thin rufous-buff edges on the coverts and tertials. Their outer primaries have stiff twisted shafts that give the species its English name. Their rump and tail are a more rufous brown than the back. Their throat is pale brown or grayish brown, their breast somewhat browner, their belly gray or dingy yellowish white, and their vent area buff. Females and juveniles do not have the modified primaries; females may have a slightly yellower belly than males. Subspecies C. s. minor is slightly paler than the nominate with a faint olive tinge to the brown. Both sexes of both subspecies have a brown to orange or reddish iris, a wide bill with a black maxilla and orange-yellow mandible, and black legs and feet.Distribution and habitat
The brownish twistwing has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies has two populations. One is found on the Caribbean slope for the full length of Panama and on the Pacific slope from the Canal Zone, and from both into Colombia east to Bolívar Department and south along the Pacific slope through Chocó Department. The other is found on the Pacific slope for most of the length of Ecuador. However, the two ranges may be contiguous. Subspecies C. s. minor is found in the western Amazon Basin from southeastern Colombia south through eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru into far northwestern Bolivia and east into western Brazil to the Rio Negro and lower Rio Madeira.The brownish twistwing inhabits humid lowland evergreen forest in all of its ranges. In the west it also is found in drier deciduous forest. In Ecuador and Peru it occurs almost entirely in terra firme forest, and in Bolivia alone it is associated with bamboo. In all forest types it greatly favors dense vegetation and vine tangles in the forest understory. It is a bird of the lowands, reaching about in Colombia but only in Ecuador.