The pied water tyrant (lenght 12 cm) is mainly found in the
vicinity of water, on the ground or low in bushes, searching for
insects. A place of choice for them is between the roots of
mangrove.
They are mostly foraging alone or in a family group, with one or
two young. The young are recognisable by their more greyish
coloration. The adult birds are nicely black and white, the male
the same as the female.
The nest can be found in the vicinity of water, especially in the
dry season. It is an oval ball of grass, coton and leaves and
inside it is furnished with a white lining of feathers. The
entrance is found at a side, often near the top. Both male and
female have parental duties to fulfill, building the nest,
sitting on the eggs and feeding the young. As with many other
species, this bird is also visited by the shiny cowbird to lay an
egg in the tyrants nest.
If you know their sound, these birds are easily noticed: if you
repeat their metallic "tjew", you can lure the birds to
come near.
The uppermost picture was made by Jan hein Ribot in Paramaribo in 2006, them a photo by K. Dijkstra in Parbo,the photo directly above the text was made by J.S. Dunning in Colombia, the one below by Pascal Dubois in French Guyane (2002).
Each small square indicates the observation of at least one (group) of these birds, the medium ones at least 4 observations on different days and the largest ones 10 or more. The color of each square indicates: blue for coastal area, yellow for savanna and red for rainforest. Two pictures made in Nieuw Nickerie, the second one of a bird at his nest, made with a lot of 'cotton' (Ribot, march 2001). The last picture made by R. Plomp in Nieuw Nickerie.
At its nest, a "ball of cotton".
| Distribution in Suriname (explanation) | |
| Coastal area |  |
| Savanna |  |
| Forests | |
| Mountain forests | |
| Sipalawini savanna | |
Names in
Birds of Suriname photo gallery
*