Tolmomyias
| Tolmomyias | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Yellow-olive flatbill (Tolmomyias sulphurescens) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Tyrannidae |
| Genus: | Tolmomyias Hellmayr, 1927 |
| Type species | |
| Platyrhynchus sulphurescens Spix, 1825 | |
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.[1][2][3] The genus name Tolmomyias combines the Ancient Greek tolma "courage" or "boldness" with the Neo-Latin myias "flycatcher".[4]
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.[5]
Species
The genus contains seven species:[6]
| 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. |
.jpg) | Yellow-margined flatbill | Tolmomyias assimilis | southern Central America, and the Chocó and Amazon in South America. |
_(8079750693).jpg) | 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. |
References
- ↑ Hellmayr, Carl Eduard (1927). "Catalogue of birds of the Americas and the adjacent islands in Field Museum of Natural History". Field Museum of Natural History, Zoological Series. 13 (5 Tyrannidae): 1–517 [273].
- ↑ Traylor, Melvin A. Jr, ed. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 8. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 100.
- ↑ Dickinson, E.C.; Christidis, L., eds. (2014). The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (PDF). Vol. 2: Passerines (4th ed.). Eastbourne, UK: Aves Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-9568611-2-2.
- ↑ Jobling, J.A. (2019). del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J.; Christie, D.A.; de Juana, E. (eds.). "Tolmomyias". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive: Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 29 June 2019.
- ↑ Ridgely, Robert S.; Tudor, Guy (2009). Birds of South America: Passerines. Helm Field Guides. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 440–442. ISBN 978-1-408-11342-4.
- ↑ AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi:10.2173/avilist.v2025. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
