Yellow-crowned Tyrannulet

How to find it

Listen first for the repeated whistled call, then scan forest edges, river edges, clearings and disturbed forest. The ear will find it before the eye does. In the south, forest and scrubby or wet fields have produced it for visiting groups, including the Golfo Dulce lowlands. A photographer on the Caribbean slope in Cartago also located one first by its distinctive call. Records there are few but rising, as the species keeps expanding its range.

How to recognise it

Look for a gray head with a dark gray face and a very short, stubby black bill. The back is olive, and two wingbars cross the wing, yellowish-white in some accounts. The throat is pale gray and the belly is bright yellow.

The yellow crown patch gives the bird its name, but it is mostly hidden and hard to see in the field, so do not count on it. The better guide is the whole combination: short black bill, dark gray face, two wingbars and a bright yellow belly.

What it sounds like

Recording: Dan MacNeal, CC BY 4.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

Inside forest it forages in the canopy, but it often perches much lower at forest edges, which is where most people get a view. It forages alone or in pairs, taking insects and small fruits. It perches in the open and picks food from foliage while hovering.

Because it is inconspicuous apart from its voice, patience at an edge, listening and then scanning, pays off more than moving quickly.

Where it lives

On the Pacific slope of Costa Rica it ranges from north-central Puntarenas Province and northern San José Province, then continues south into Panama. In Costa Rica it is found from the lowlands up to about 1,200 m (3,900 ft).

Across its wider range it lives in humid evergreen forest, mostly at the edges and in shrubby openings, and also in the canopy. It also uses secondary forest, light woodland, coffee and citrus plantations, gardens and suburban parks.

Similar birds

Birders often mistake small yellowish tyrannulets for warblers in Costa Rica. The common Paltry Tyrannulet also has a stubby black bill and yellow-edged wings, but it gives a short "peep" call rather than a whistled "too-pew". A Yellow Tyrannulet was seen in the same area as one on a southern road, so check each small yellow bird carefully.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rica's name for this bird is Mosquerito Coroniamarillo. Other countries use different Spanish names, such as tiranuelo coronado in Colombia and tiranolete coroniamarillo in Ecuador and Panama.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R); it is uncommon in Costa Rica but expanding its range, and the IUCN rates the species Least Concern.

Photography tips

Once you hear the call, look low at the forest edge as well as up in the canopy, since it often perches in the open at lower levels. Edges, clearings and river edges give the clearest views.