Tawny-chested Flycatcher (Aphanotriccus capitalis); Mosquerito pechileonardo; Moucherolle à poitrine fauve; Ockerbrust-Schnäppertyrann

The tropics are famous both for their flies and their flycatchers. Costa Rica is spoiled on both counts, but for birdwatchers this is both a blessing and a curse – a blessing because the country is home to more than 80 different flycatcher species, and a curse because some of the flies can be rather bothersome. The fact that many of the flycatchers are difficult to identify might be regarded by some as a curse, but if you’re up for the challenge you’re truly blessed. I saw my first Tawny-chested Flycatcher in 2017 with the help of friend and guide Steven Aguilar Montenegro at Balalaica near Sitio de Mata close to Pavones, which is on the other side of Turrialba from us. Again the following year Steven and I found the species at The Lodge, Ecorefugio Los Pavones.

This is a rather uncommon species found only in Costa Rica and eastern Nicaragua. It was in 2019 that John first succeeded in obtaining some rather dark photographs of the species near the rushing streams of the beautifully forested Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Marta near Pejibaye. The earlier post I wrote in this blog at that time thus left much to be desired. This can now be remedied because La Marta has since then become a favourite local destination of ours. In December of 2022 John surprised me with the following pics of said Tawny-chested Flycatcher, which he took at La Marta:

Males and females are supposedly indistinguishable through binoculars, though females may show an olive tint on the (usually) grey head.

The function of the rictal bristles, a feature shared with many other species, is as yet not fully explained despite considerable scientific research.

This view makes plain the considerable difficulty involved in identifying this small flycatcher, and not only for first-time visitors to the country. Field-guide illustrations often highlight the salient features (e.g. the ‘tawny’ chest), but individual birds can look rather different depending also on the lighting, which is often poor in the case of forest species.

Detailed perusal of the photos has now revealed that the ‘bristle’ is actually the remnant antenna of the flycatcher’s latest insect victim! So my initial comparison with a moth antenna was not too far off the mark!

Fortunately, the quality of the photographs allows identification of several diagnostic features, including the wing bar (just the lower one seems to be in evidence here), bright yellow belly, and olive-green back. Judge for yourself. As is the case with some other uncommon species, the eggs of the Tawny-chested Flycatcher remain undescribed although it is known that the nest is usually located in a natural cavity or woodpecker hole.