About Poecilotriccus ruficeps (Kaup, 1852)
The rufous-crowned tody-flycatcher (Poecilotriccus ruficeps) is approximately 9 to 10 cm (3.5 to 3.9 in) long and weighs about 6.6 g (0.23 oz). Both sexes have identical plumage. For the nominate subspecies P. r. ruficeps, adults have a bright rufous crown and a gray nape, separated by a black line that extends onto the cheek. They have a white to buffy patch above the lores, a thin black line that runs through the eye, and white to buffy cheeks. Their back, rump, and uppertail coverts are olive. Their wings are black, with yellowish white edges on the flight feathers and yellow tips on the coverts; these yellow tips form two thin wing bars. Their tail is olive-brown. Their throat and upper breast are buffy whitish, with a faint dusky or blackish band below the breast. The rest of their underparts are bright yellow. Juveniles have paler throats than adult birds. Each recognized subspecies has distinct physical traits: P. r. rufigenis has a very faint black line on the cheek, or lacks this marking entirely; P. r. peruvianus has bolder black markings on the face and a whiter throat than the nominate subspecies; P. r. melanomystax has whitish cheeks, and the black line on the nape widens onto the sides of the neck. All subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black bill, and gray legs and feet. This species has a disjunct distribution, with each subspecies occupying a separate range: P. r. melanomystax is found in the Andes of northern Mérida and eastern Trujillo states in western Venezuela, and extends south through Colombia's Eastern Andes in Cundinamarca Department and Central Andes to Valle del Cauca Department; P. r. ruficeps ranges from southern Táchira in far southwestern Venezuela, south through all three Andean ranges of Colombia and the east slope of the Ecuadorian Andes to Loja Province, and may also occur in Colombia's Serranía del Perijá; P. r. rufigenis lives on the western slope of the Andes from Nariño Department in far southwestern Colombia, into Ecuador as far as Azuay Province; P. r. peruvianus occurs from Loja and Zamora-Chinchipe provinces in Ecuador, into Peru's Piura and Cajamarca departments. The rufous-crowned tody-flycatcher inhabits shrubby and brushy areas at the edges and in clearings of primary and secondary forest, overgrown pastures, and areas along watercourses and roads. It also prefers stands of bamboo, and does not live inside closed forest interiors. Its elevation range varies by country: it occurs between 1,800 and 2,900 m (5,900 and 9,500 ft) in Venezuela, 1,500 and 2,700 m (4,900 and 8,900 ft) in Colombia, 1,500 and 2,500 m (4,900 and 8,200 ft) in Ecuador, and 2,400 and 2,900 m (7,900 and 9,500 ft) in Peru.
