The olive-chested flycatcher (Myiophobus cryptoxanthus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The Olive-chested flycatcher was first described by English ornithologist Philip Sclater in 1861 as Myiobius cryptoxanthus, from specimens collected by Louis Fraser in Gualaquiza and Zamora in Ecuador.[1] Its species name, cryptoxanthus comes from the Greek kryptos and xanthos, meaning hidden and yellow respectively, this is a reference to its subtle yellow breast. It was considered a subspecies of bran-colored flycatcher by Cory & Hellmayr in 1927 under the name Sclater's banded flycatcher.[2]
The olive-chested flycatcher is a particularly small bird, something that can be used as a distinguishing characteristic from other Myiophobus species in its range. It has a light taupe cap, nape, tail, back, and cheeks and a subtle tan crown. Its lores, brow, neck, and chin are a faint beige and its wings are a dark bistre with two light-coloured wingbars and lighter tipped secondaries and primaries. The sides of its breast are grey, on either side of a sometimes faint olive-yellow middle and vent. The grey of its breast can variably appear streaked or as a single colour, either on the upper part of the breast with the belly an olive-yellow, or with the olive-yellow having the grey on either side of it by the wings. Like others in its genus, it has black legs and feet, a large dark eye with a broken white eye-ring, black whiskers, and a stubby bill with a large and rounded upper mandible. It weighs 8.5g to 9.8g.[3] [4]
Originally described as only being found in Ecuador, it was later discovered in northern Peru. The olive-chested flycatcher likes forest edge habitat and occurs at slightly higher elevations than its relative, the bran-colored flycatcher,[5] being found at around 1,200 meters.[6] In Ecuador it is found from the province of Sucumbios down to Zamora-Chinchipe. In Peru it occurs in the departments of Cajamarca, Amazonas, Loreto, and San Martín.