Zimmerius vilissimus

Zimmerius vilissimus, top

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Subsectio: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Infraclassis: Aves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Tyranni
Infraordo: Tyrannides
Parvordo: Tyrannida

Familia: Tyrannidae
Genus: Zimmerius
Species: Zimmerius vilissimus
Name

Zimmerius vilissimus (P.L. Sclater & Salvin, 1859)

Type locality: Cobán, Guatemala.

Synonyms

Elainia vilissima (protonym)
Tyranniscus vilissimus (P.L. Sclater & Salvin, 1859)

References
Primary references

Sclater, P.L. & Salvin, O. 1859. On the Ornithology of Central America. The Ibis Part I - 1(1): 1–22. BHL Part II - 1(2): 117–138. BHL Part III - 1(3): 213–234. BHL Reference page. Original description p. 122 BHL pl. 4 fig. 1 BHL

Additional references

Rheindt, F.E., Cuervo, A.M. & Brumfield, R.T. 2013. Rampant polyphyly indicates cryptic diversity in a clade of Neotropical flycatchers (Aves: Tyrannidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 108: 889–900. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.02036.x Full article (PDF) Reference page.
Rheindt, F.E., Fujita, M.K., Wilton, P.R. & Edwards, S.V. 2014. Introgression and phenotypic assimilation in Zimmerius flycatchers (Tyrannidae): population genetic and phylogenetic inferences from genome-wide SNPs. Systematic Biology 63: 134–152. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syt070Full article (PDF)Reference page.

Vernacular names
English: Paltry tyrannulet
español: Mosquerito centroamericano

The Guatemalan tyrannulet or paltry tyrannulet (Zimmerius vilissimus), is a very small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It occurs in southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and southern Belize.

It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the mistletoe tyrannulet (Zimmerius parvus).[2]

The Guatemalan tyrannulet is a common bird from the lowlands to 2,600 m (8,500 ft) altitude, mainly in humid regions. It can be found in forests, second growth, pasture and plantations with trees, and shady gardens.

The nest is roughly spherical with a side entrance and made of mosses and lined with plant fibre; it may be built amongst mosses or dangling epiphyte roots, inside a large dead leaf, or inside or below a yellow-olive flycatcher's pendant nest. It is constructed 2–15 m above the ground. The typical clutch is two rufous-marked dull white eggs. Incubation by the female is 14–15 days to hatching, with another 17 days to fledging.

The Guatemalan tyrannulet is 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) in length. The upperparts are olive-green other than a dull grey crown to the head and grey supercilia. The wings are blackish with yellow feather edging but no wing bars, and the longish tail is dusky. The throat and breast are off-white with grey streaking, the belly is white, and the flanks have a dull yellow-green cast. The long legs are blackish. The sexes are similar, but young birds have an olive crown, yellow-tinged supercilia and broader but paler wing bars. The call is a loud peeer and the dawn song is a plaintive yer-de-dee, yer-de-dee.

The Guatemalan tyrannulet is an active bird, usually seen alone or in pairs high in trees. It eats mainly mistletoe, but also other berries and small insects, all taken in flight in short sallies from a perch.
References

BirdLife International (2017). "Zimmerius vilissimus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T103680824A112299652. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103680824A112299652.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2017). "Tyrant flycatchers". World Bird List Version 7.3. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 January 2018.