Bran-colored Flycatcher

How to find it

Look at grassy roadsides, marshes and pasture edges in the south. On one southern tour, birders found it at a grassy roadside spot where Masked Yellowthroat and Pale-breasted Spinetail were in the same grass, so one stop gave all three. Those two share its habitat, along with the Chiriqui form of Olive-crowned Yellowthroat, so hearing them is a good sign. The road to La Gamba runs through open grassland at sea level, and an early start is best there. On a 2023 tour, two were seen along the edge of a marshy pasture near the Panama border.

How to recognise it

Across its range this is a small flycatcher with a dark reddish-brown head and upperparts.

Look for these marks:

- two pale buff wing bars

- a whitish breast shading to pale yellow on the belly

- dark streaks on the breast and flanks

A yellow crown patch is hidden in the reddish crown and shows when the bird is excited. Juveniles lack it, so a calm bird may never show it.

It is tiny, about 11 to 14 cm long, and weighs roughly 7 to 17 g. When perched it stands upright, which helps you pick it out on a low stem.

What it sounds like

Recording: Ezequiel Vera, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It catches flying insects by darting out from a perch. It also takes insects from leaves and twigs, or with short hovering flights, usually low down. Across its range it forages alone or in pairs within about 2 m of the ground and seldom joins mixed-species flocks.

Birders often find it hard to see because it moves quickly through undergrowth. Its diet is mainly insects, with fewer small berries. In Costa Rica, nest building begins in late March.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica the southwestern form is found from southern San José Province south through Puntarenas Province and on into Panama. A Spanish-language source places it in the Térraba valley.

Along the Pacific slope from Costa Rica east to eastern Panama, it lives in dry forest, scrub, thickets beside rivers, brushy savanna, river islands and bamboo stands. Across its whole range it tends to avoid dense forest and uses forest edges, savannas, scrub, second growth and pastures, from sea level up to about 2,650 m.

When to see it

In Central America the breeding season runs from March to June, and in Costa Rica nest building begins in late March. Starting early is best, since the heat slows bird activity in the afternoon.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Besides the AOCR name Mosquerito Pechirrayado, Spanish names for the species include mosquero estriado, mosqueta estriada, mosqueta chorreada and atrapamoscas pechirrayado. Mosquerito pechirrayado is the name used in Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama.

Status and conservation

Resident (R) on the AOCR list, fairly common in Costa Rica, and rated Least Concern by the IUCN.