Ruddy-tailed Flycatcher

How to find it

Walk forest trails slowly and scan open perches in the understory for a small, upright rufous shape. Check any mixed flock, since it is usually found with them. Army ant raids are worth stopping for, because they draw this flycatcher in. Tour groups have found it on Carara trails, including the walk in to the manakin pools late in the afternoon, though one group saw it only briefly. One responded well along the main trail at La Selva. It often does not stay long, so be ready to look quickly.

How to recognise it

This is a very small flycatcher, about 10 cm long and 7 g. Look for these marks:

Gray head and upper back.

Bright rufous breast, wings, rump and tail.

Buffy lower belly.

Short, stubby bill.

Large, bushy-looking head with big eyes, as in many flycatchers of the dim forest understory.

It sits very upright and often perches in the open. It sometimes lifts both wings quickly, a small habit worth watching for.

What it sounds like

Recording: Guillaume Delaitre, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It waits on a branch, then sallies out to catch insects, and it especially favors leafhoppers. It is usually seen alone, though it sometimes joins mixed flocks of understory birds and also moves about on its own. In Costa Rica, groups have found it with antwrens and antbirds at Cahuita and within a flock of tanagers at Braulio. Army ant raids draw it in. The female builds a pear-shaped nest of plant fibres and leaves, with a side entrance under a small visor. The nest hangs in the undergrowth, 2 to 6 m up.

Where it lives

Across its range it lives in the low and middle levels of humid forest and tall secondary forest, below about 1100 m elevation, and it is considered fairly common and widespread. In Costa Rica a tour report calls it scattered in the lowlands and foothills of both slopes. It has been recorded at Carara in Puntarenas, La Selva near Sarapiquí in Heredia, Tapantí in Cartago, Centro Manú near Guápiles in the Caribbean foothills, Cahuita on the Caribbean coast, and in the far south. At Los Cusingos one foraged at middle and upper levels of the forest.

When to see it

Breeding has been recorded from March to May in Costa Rica.

Similar birds

The Cinnamon Manakin-Tyrant looks very similar. The Ruddy-tailed differs by its upright posture, gray mantle, pale lower bill and relatively longer tail. That comparison comes from a Peru source, so check it against what you see locally.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Spanish name used in Costa Rica (and Mexico) is Mosquerito Colirrufo. Elsewhere it goes by other names, such as Mosquerito Colirrojo in Spain and Atrapamoscas Colirrufo in Colombia.

Status and conservation

The official Costa Rican bird list gives it resident status (R), and the IUCN rates it Least Concern.

Photography tips

A responsive bird was found along the main trail at La Selva. Tour leaders note it often does not stay long, so have the camera ready and take your look quickly. Army ant raids, where one was photographed in the south, are a good place to wait.