The ground tyrants (Muscisaxicola) are a genus of passerine birds belonging to the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. There are about 13 different species. They are ground-dwelling birds which inhabit open country in South America, particularly the Andes and Patagonia. Several southern species are migratory, moving northward for the winter. Ground tyrants feed on insects and other invertebrates, mainly by picking them from the ground.
A flight display is performed during the breeding season. The nest is a cup of twigs or grass which, in most species, is built in a burrow, crevice or under rocks.
Ground tyrants are fairly small (13–20 cm in length) with longish legs, a slender bill and an erect posture. The plumage is dull and mainly grey or brown with paler underparts. The head is variably patterned with several species having rufous patches on the crown or white between the bill and eye. The birds have simple calls and are often silent.
Taxonomy The genus Muscisaxicola was introduced in 1837 by the French naturalists Alcide d'Orbigny and Frédéric de Lafresnaye. They listed several species in their new genus but did not specify a type species. In 1840 the English zoologist George Gray selected Muscisaxicola rufivertex Orbigny & Lafresnaye, the rufous-naped ground tyrant, as the type. The genus name is a portmanteau of the genera Muscicapa and Saxicola.
A molecular phylogenetic study of the suboscines published in 2020 found that the yellow-browed tyrant in the monotypic genus Satrapa was sister to the species in the genus Muscisaxicola. A high resolution version of the phylogenetic tree in Figure 1 is available from the first author's website here.
A study of mitochondrial DNA by Terry Chesser published in 2000 found that the little ground tyrant (M. fluviatilis) is highly divergent and not closely related to the other ground tyrants. All the remaining species are related and form a monophyletic group, although the spot-billed ground tyrant (M. maculirostris) is somewhat divergent from the others. The little and spot-billed ground tyrants are smaller and browner than the other species and the little ground tyrant also differs in its habitat, occurring near rivers in the Amazon rainforest.
The paramo ground tyrant (M. alpinus) and Taczanowski's ground tyrant (M. griseus) were previously treated as a single species but are genetically divergent with the paramo ground tyrant belonging to a southern Andean and Patagonian clade within the genus and Taczanowski's ground tyrant belonging to a central Andean clade. The name plain-capped ground tyrant is used by some authors to refer to M. griseus with paramo ground tyrant used for M. alpinus.
The genus name Muscisaxicola is masculine, therefore the species names griseus, cinereus, maclovianus, alpinus and capistratus are correct rather than grisea, cinerea, macloviana, alpina and capistrata. The names flavinucha and albilora are invariable.
Species list The genus contains 12 species:
Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Spot-billed ground tyrant Muscisaxicola maculirostris Andes White-fronted ground tyrant Muscisaxicola albifrons Puna grassland Ochre-naped ground tyrant Muscisaxicola flavinucha southern Andes ; winters to northern Peru Paramo ground tyrant Muscisaxicola alpinus Andes of Colombia and Ecuador Taczanowski's ground tyrant Muscisaxicola griseus Puna grassland Cinereous ground tyrant Muscisaxicola cinereus Puna grassland Rufous-naped ground tyrant Muscisaxicola rufivertex Puna grassland,southern Andes and Sierras Pampeanas Dark-faced ground tyrant Muscisaxicola maclovianus southern Andes ;winters to coastal Peru and throughout Southern Cone White-browed ground tyrant Muscisaxicola albilora southern Andes ; winters north to Ecuador Cinnamon-bellied ground tyrant Muscisaxicola capistratus southern Patagonia ;winters north to southeastern Peru Puna ground tyrant Muscisaxicola juninensis Puna grassland Black-fronted ground tyrant Muscisaxicola frontalis southern Andes ;winters in Puna grassland
The little ground tyrant was formerly placed in Muscisaxicola but was moved to the monotypic genus Syrtidicola following the publication of a phylogenetic study in 2020.
References
Further reading Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter & Beadle, David (2003) Field Guide to the Birds of Chile, Christopher Helm, London Vuilleumier, François (1994) Nesting, behavior, distribution and speciation of Patagonian and Andean ground tyrants (Myiotheretes, Xolmis, Neoxolmis, Agriornis and Muscisaxicola), Ornitologia Neotropical, 5: 1–55
External links Video, spottings and photos on Birds of the world.
Muscisaxicola albifrons—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola albilora—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola alpinus—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola capistratus—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola cinereus—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola flavinucha—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola frontalis—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola griseus—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola juninensis—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola maclovianus—Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola maculirostris— Videos and Photos Muscisaxicola rufivertex—Videos and Photos