Ash-breasted tit-tyrant

The ash-breasted tit-tyrant (Anairetes alpinus) is a small bird of the Tyrannidae family, located in the High Andes of Peru and in Bolivia. This bird is commonly found at an elevation of 3700-4600 meters high. They are an endangered species, as the population is continuously decreasing due to various threats. They can be identified by their dark gray color, with two white bars on their wings and around the tail. The Ash-breasted Tit-Tyrant is uncommon but very local.

Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.

Description
An Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant can be identified by their overall gray color. They have a short, round figure, and are about 13 centimeters long. The top part of their body is dark gray, while the belly area is a lighter shade. There are two white bars going across their wings, and outlining their tails. They have a long black tail, and a black point on top of their head. Behind that black point, there is some white exposed on the crown.

Taxonomy
The Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant comes from the Animalia kingdom, and the Aves Class. They are in the Tyrannidae family, which consists of Tyrants. They get their scientific name from their genus, Anairetes, and their species, Alpinus.

The ash-breasted tit-tyrant's genus, Anairetes, is believed to be most closely related to the genera Mecocerculus and Serpophaga; however, there is no definitive evidence supporting this claim. Members of the genus Anairetes are known commonly as tit-tyrants because their active foraging behavior and crests are reminiscent of the true tits in the family Paridae.

Population
As of 2016, the Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant was listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. These birds were also considered threatened in 1988. Now, there are 150-700 mature individuals left, and 250-999 total individuals. They are confined to their habitat, ranging from 11 to 100 locations and 3700-4500 meters in elevation.

Habitat
The Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant is commonly found in terrestrial environments, consisting of rain forests, grasslands, or mountain slopes. They create tightly woven and dense nests in these areas. They are not migrants, which causes complications, as their habitat decreases in both area and quality. This bird is known as a flycatcher, as it flies in pairs or with its family groups.

Diet
The Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant does not have a known diet but is commonly seen as an insectivorous.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior
This bird is known to have a longer chirp rather than a short call in general. The Ash-breasted tit-tyrants chirp is heard as a song instead of a chirp to one another and ends with a “peep” or “pip”.

Threats
The Ash-breasted Tit-tyrant's habitat is threatened by fire, and fire suppression. They are also at risk from ranching and livestock farming. More than 90% of the forests the ash-breasted tit-tyrant are located in Bolivia have been disrupted by humans.

Conservation Actions
There is no current specific recovery plan for the ash-breasted tit-tyrant. However, there are conservation sites, and CEPF Armonia is working to save their species and development over time. There have also been proposed conservation actions, such as separating agriculture from forest areas, and conducting studies to keep track of the birds’ population size.