About Muscipipra vetula (Lichtenstein, 1823)
Scientific name: Muscipipra vetula (Lichtenstein, 1823). The shear-tailed grey tyrant measures between 20 and 22.5 cm (7.9 to 8.9 inches) in total length. Males and females have identical plumage. Adult individuals have mostly dull dark gray heads and upperparts. Their dusky ear coverts form a distinct facial mask, and faint streaks pattern the crown and back. Their wings are dusky and blackish in color. The species’ namesake tail is long, slender, and deeply notched; it is mostly dusky blackish, with pale whitish edges along the undersides of the outermost pair of tail feathers. Adults have a white chin and throat, a dark gray breast, and a pale gray belly. Their iris is blackish, their bill is dusky, and their legs and feet are also dusky. Juvenile shear-tailed grey tyrants have a white scaly texture on their crown, back, and wings. This species is distributed across eastern South America, ranging from southern Bahia and central Minas Gerais in eastern Brazil, south through southern Brazil and eastern Paraguay, to the Misiones and Corrientes provinces of northeastern Argentina. It primarily lives in the edges of humid forest and secondary woodland, and occurs less often in adjacent clearings and grassland. Most individuals are found at elevations between 1,000 and 2,200 m (3,300 to 7,200 ft).
