Coopmans's tyrannulet

Coopmans's tyrannulet
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Zimmerius
Species:	Z. minimus
Binomial name
Zimmerius minimus (Chapman, 1912)

Coopmans's tyrannulet (Zimmerius minimus) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Colombia and Venezuela.^[1]

Coopmans's tyrannulet was originally described as a subspecies of the golden-faced tyrannulet, Tyrannulus chrysops minimus. Through much of the twentieth century it and several other tyrannulets were kept in genus Tyranniscus but a study published in 1977 erected the present genus Zimmerius for them.^[2][3]

Beyond the transfer to Zimmerius the taxonomy of Coopmans's tyrannulet is unsettled. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) follows a study published in 2013 and treats it as a species with two subspecies, the nominate Z. m. minimus (Chapman, 1912) and Z. m. cumanensis (Zimmer, JT, 1941).^[1][4] The latter was also originally described as a subspecies of the golden-faced tyrannulet.^[5] However, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society, the Clements taxonomy, and BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) retain them as subspecies of the golden-faced tyrannulet. (Clements does recognize "golden-faced" and "Coopmans's" groups within the species.)^[2][6][7]

This article follows the separate species, two-subspecies IOC model.

Coopmans's tyrannulet is 10.5 to 11.5 cm (4.1 to 4.5 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a bright yellow forehead, supercilium and area around the eye and a dark stripe through the eye on an otherwise yellowish white face. Their crown, back, and rump are bright olive. Their wings are dusky with bright yellow edges on the coverts and flight feathers. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is yellowish white and their breast, flanks, and belly dull whitish. Subspecies Z. m. cumanensis has a visible wash of pale greenish yellow on its underparts. Both sexes of both subspecies have a brown or brownish gray iris, a small, rounded, blackish bill, and gray legs and feet.^[8][9][10]

Coopmans's tyrannulet has a disjunct distribution. The nominate subspecies is found in the isolated Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in northern Colombia. Subspecies Z. m. cumanensis is found in the mountains of northeastern Venezuela, in northeastern Anzoátegui, northern Monagas, and on the Paria Peninsula in Sucre. It inhabits the interior and edges of humid montane forest, secondary woodland, and semi-deciduous forest, and also coffee plantations and gardens. In elevation it occurs below 2,300 m (7,500 ft) in Colombia and ranges between 450 and 2,400 m (1,500 and 7,900 ft) in Venezuela, though it is most numerous between 500 and 1,500 m (1,600 and 4,900 ft).^[8][9][10]

Coopmans's tyrannulet is a year-round resident throughout its range.^[8]

Coopmans's tyrannulet feeds on insects and small fruits, especially those of mistletoes (Loranthaceae). It forages singly or in pairs. In Venezuela it generally spends about the same amount of foraging time as part of mixed-species feeding flocks as away from them, though it apparently seldom joins them in Colombia. It feeds mostly in the forest canopy, perching horizontally with its tail cocked and actively moving about and gleaning food while perched or with short flights.^[8][9][10]

Nothing is known about the breeding biology of Coopmans's tyrannulet.^[8]

The vocalizations of Coopmans's tyrannulet are "a querulous, inflected hueer?; also, [especially] at dawn, a distinctive teer-tif; a plaintive chu-de-de'e'e and slow, drowsy cheeee..cheeee..cheeee (4-5 notes)".^[9]

The IUCN follows HBW taxonomy and so does not assess Coopmans's tyrannulet separately from the golden-faced tyrannulet.^[11] It is considered common in both countries in inhabits.^[9][10]