Cattle Tyrant
Stilts tyrant
The stilts tyrant ( Machetornis rixosa ) is a kind of tyrant. It is found only in South America.
Appearance
The stilts tyrant reaches a body length of 19 centimeters and weighs around 30 grams. He has in his appearance somewhat similar to the king tyrants, especially with the grief tyrant. However, genetic studies have confirmed that these species are not closely related to each other.
As the grief tyrant also has the stilts bully a bright yellow underparts. The body top is predominantly gray-brown. From the beak base extends over the eye a dark color stripe. Compared to the mourning tyrant wings are shorter and less run out of pointed. His legs are also conspicuously longer.
Area of distribution and behavior
The stilts tyrant is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela. Its habitat is open grassland. The stilts tyrant is a ground-dwelling type, which preferably resides between grazing cattle. On these they sit on also and from there catch insects that have been disturbed by the cattle. Since cattle in South America are located in South America only since a few hundred years, it is believed that the stilts tyrant had been previously bound in his way of life to capybaras.