English             -              White-headed Marsh Tyrant

Portuguese     -               Freirinha

Latin                -                Arundinicola leucocephala

The White-headed Marsh Tyrant was a wee bit of a challenge to photograph. I photographed this small bird at Regua (Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu) and even though I stayed at Regua for a month, it took me quite a while before I managed to photograph it. They are not as curious as their slightly bigger cousin the “Masked water-Tyrant” (blog No 4) but with a little bit of luck and patience  I managed to photograph a pair at the Regua wetland trail. I often saw them when going on walks but once they new you were there they flew until one day when I sat and waited at a place I new they frequented, then after a wee bit of a wait, they turned up near to where I was and I managed to get some quite close up photos of them. Photo No 1 is of a male and photo No 2 is of a wee female. 

* Small bird of 12·5–13 cm in length and weighs up to 16 grams.

* It is found in certain parts of South America and the Caribbean.

* Usually a quiet bird but occasionally lets out a high, sharp “sedik!”; low “dew-de-lewde.

* It feeds mainly on insects, and often sallies out to catch them in flight.

* Female lays 2 to 3 creamy-white eggs, with brown spots. Chicks fledge after 2 weeks.

* Not globally threatened at this stage. Fairly common to locally common. Much of its habitat remains in relatively pristine condition within its large range, therefore the White-headed Marsh Tyrant is classed as a species of “least concern ”