English             -            Crested Black-Tyrant

Portuguese      -            Maria-preta-de-penacho

Latin                 -             Knipolegus lophotes

I think what makes this bird impressive is the wee black crest on top of its head. I managed to photograph this bird in 2 different locations. The first time I photographed it was when we went to Parque Municipal da Serra do Curral on the outskirts of Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais. We didn’t plan to visit this park. The park we wanted to see was Parque Municipal das Mangabeiras but it was closed due to the outbreak of yellow fever and the discovery of dead monkeys within the park. I thought this was strange because Parque Municipal das Mangabeiras and Parque Municipal da Serra do Curral are linked together so I would have thought if one parked closed, so would the other one. That’s just me thinking though.  Anyway……………….I think the Crested Black-Tyrant was the only animal I photographed that day (photo 1). it was a day I wasn’t really in the “zone” for photography. I think it was because it was a hot but overcast day and we had just walked miles and the only reason I photographed the Crested Black-Tyrant is that it flew past me and landed on a tree close by. The second opportunity to photograph the Crested Black-Tyrant was when I was staying a month at Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu. (REGUA) I did a day excursion from Regua to a place called Sumidouro. On the way we stopped near a town called Teresópolis to photograph some other birds and it just happened to be there as well (photo 2) This Crested Black-Tyrant was a lot better to photograph as it was posing in bright sunlight.

* Smallish bird of up to 21 cm in length.

* Is found in Southern Brazil, Eastern Uruguay and in Eastern parts of Paraguay.

* Lives in habitats such as Savannahs, open grassy or shrubby areas, often near groves of trees

* Usually silent during the day, sings more at night with modulated, ascending and descending notes.

* The Crested Black-Tyrant will mainly feed on insects but will occasionally eat berries.

* The Crested Black-Tyrant is classified as a species “of least concern”. It is not globally threatened and is uncommon to fairly common in its range. Appears to have a large home ranges.