Identification
Small, drab flycatcher of dry forest and desert scrub in northwestern Peru and southwestern Ecuador. Plumage is gray and brown, lacking yellow tones, with brown wingbars and a pale eye stripe. Round crown and lack of crest help separate it from Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet and Gray-and-white Tyrannulet. Very similar to Marañon Tyrannulet (they were formerly considered to be the same species and called Mouse-colored Tyrannulet). Differences are very subtle, and range is often the best clue. Tumbes Tyrannulet is found primarily in the western lowlands, reaching only into the lower foothills of the Andes. Vocalizations tend to be shorter and more abrupt than those of Marañon Tyrannulet, and include a quick “widichit!” and “peedit!” as well as various sharp squeaks and rasps.