Tolmomyias is a genus of Neotropical birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is one of the two genera containing the "flatbills"; the other is Rhynchocyclus.
Taxonomy The genus Tolmomyias was introduced in 1927 by the Austrian ornithologist Carl Eduard Hellmayr with Platyrhynchus sulphurescens Spix, 1825, the yellow-olive flatbill, as the type species. The genus name Tolmomyias combines the Ancient Greek "courage" or "boldness" with the Neo-Latin "flycatcher".
These species are notoriously difficult to identify, except by voice. Their taxonomy is complex and it is likely that some "species" actually include several species level taxa. They are relatively thickset birds with proportionally large heads and, as suggested by their name, flat bills. All have a primarily yellow-green plumage with distinct edging to the wings, and the crown is often grey. They are usually found in humid forests where they forage well above the forest floor and will join mixed flocks. Their bag-shaped nests are often placed near wasp nests.
Species The genus contains seven species: Image Common name Scientific Name Distribution Yellow-olive flatbill Tolmomyias sulphurescens Central and South America Orange-eyed flatbill Tolmomyias traylori south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and north-eastern Peru. Yellow-margined flatbill Tolmomyias assimilis southern Central America, and the Chocó and Amazon in South America. Yellow-winged flatbill Tolmomyias flavotectus north west Ecuador, Colombia, Panama and Costa Rica. Grey-crowned flatbill Tolmomyias poliocephalus Amazon and Atlantic forests Ochre-lored flatbill Tolmomyias flaviventris Colombia and Venezuela, south to Peru, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil, and on both Trinidad and Tobago. Olive-faced flatbill Tolmomyias viridiceps Western Amazonia.
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