About Myiornis auricularis (Vieillot, 1818)
The eared pygmy tyrant (Myiornis auricularis) is approximately 7 to 9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 inches) long and weighs around 5 g (0.18 oz). It is a very small bird with a disproportionately large head and a distinctive facial pattern. Males and females have identical plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a buffish cinnamon area surrounding the eye, whitish ear coverts with a black crescent behind them, and a black patch below the eye. Their crown is bright olive with a brown tinge, while their nape and neck are gray, and their back and rump are bright olive. Their wings are dusky, with bright olive-yellow edges on the flight feathers and bright olive-yellow tips on the coverts; the tipped coverts form two indistinct wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their throat and upper breast are white with thin black streaks, and the rest of their underparts are bright yellow with scattered olive streaks. Subspecies M. a. cinereicollis is variable in appearance, but most individuals have paler, buffy whitish ear coverts. Both subspecies have an orange iris, a blackish bill, and pinkish legs and feet. The eared pygmy tyrant is native to the Atlantic Forest, and is split into two subspecies with differing ranges. Subspecies M. a. cinereicollis is the more northern of the two. It occurs in eastern Brazil, in southeastern Bahia, Minas Gerais, and Espírito Santo, with a small number of scattered records from areas north of Bahia. The nominate subspecies occurs in southeastern Brazil between Mato Grosso do Sul and Rio de Janeiro state, extends south to northern Rio Grande do Sul, and ranges through eastern Paraguay into Misiones Province in northeastern Argentina. This species primarily lives in dense vegetation along the edges of humid forest. It is occasionally found in the forest interior, and in trees growing in meadows adjacent to the forest. Its elevational range extends from sea level up to approximately 1,250 m (4,100 ft).
