Black-and-white tody-flycatcher
species of bird
The black-and-white tody-flycatcher (Poecilotriccus capitalis) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-and-white tody-flycatcher was originally described in 1857 as Todirostrum capitale. The species eventually received the English name "black-and-white tody-tyrant" and the specific epithet capitalis. Following a 1988 publication, taxonomic systems moved capitalis and several other species from Todirostrum to genus Poecilotriccus. By the early twenty-first century genus Poecilotriccus had species called both "tody-tyrant" and "tody-flycatcher" so taxonomic systems began renaming the "tyrants" to "flycatcher".
The black-and-white tody-flycatcher is monotypic. However, for a time in the twentieth century it and what is now the white-cheeked tody-flycatcher (P. albifascies) were considered conspecific. In addition, a form named P. tricolor was at times considered a subspecies but it is now not considered to be a valid taxon.
Description
The black-and-white tody-flycatcher is about 9 to 9.5 cm (3.5 to 3.7 in) long and weighs 5.6 to 8 g (0.20 to 0.28 oz).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Black-and-white tody-flycatcher” as species of bird. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as species of bird. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1270048. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1857 and 1988.
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This entry incorporates text from “Black-and-white tody-flycatcher” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.