Smoky Bush-Tyrant

The smoky bush tyrant is 18 to 20.5 cm (7.1 to 8.1 in) long. The sexes have the same plumage, which is somewhat reminiscent of a thrush's. Adults of the nominate subspecies M. f. fumigatus have a thin white supercilium on an otherwise dark smoky brown face. Their upperparts are also dark smoky brown. Their wings are mostly blackish with buffy edges on the coverts and cinnamon bases to the inner webs of the flight feathers; the latter show prominently in flight. Their underwing coverts are cinnamon which also shows in flight. Their tail is mostly blackish with whitish edges on the outer feathers. Their chin and throat are mottled with whitish and dark brown with an ochraceous tinge to the throat. Their underparts are mostly dark smoky brown with dingy buff undertail coverts. Subspecies M. f. olivaceus has a dull grayish white supercilium and a brownish vent area. M. f. lugubris has a smaller supercilium than the nominate and an ochraceous crissum. M. f. cajamarcae is darker overall and has a smaller supercilium than the nominate. All subspecies have a dark iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet.

The smoky bush tyrant has a disjunct distribution though some subspecies' ranges abut. The subspecies are found thus:

M. f. olivaceus: the Serranía del Perijá straddling the Colombia-Venezuela border and the Andes of western Zulia and southern Táchira states in Venezuela M. f. fumigatus: all three Colombian Andes ranges and south into northern Ecuador M. f. lugubris: Andes from Trujillo to northern Táchira in western Venezuela M. f. cajamarcae: Andes from Cañar Province in southern Ecuador into Peru, on the western slope to Cajamorca Department and on the eastern slope to Cuzco Department The species is found on both slopes of the Andes in Ecuador and the range of M. f. fumigatus apparently abuts that of M. f. cajamarcae. The smoky bush tyrant inhabits the interior and edges of humid montane and elfin forest in the upper subtropical and temperate zones. There it mostly occurs from the mid-story to the subcanopy thought it also often occurs on shrubby slopes that have scattered trees. In elevation it ranges between 2,200 and 3,600 m (7,200 and 11,800 ft) in Venezuela, between 2,000 and 3,600 m (6,600 and 11,800 ft) in Colombia, between 2,000 and 3,200 m (6,600 and 10,500 ft) in Ecuador, and between 2,300 and 3,450 m (7,500 and 11,300 ft) in Peru.

The smoky bush tyrant feeds on insects. It typically forages singly or in pairs and occasionally joins mixed-species feeding flocks. It perches erect in the subcanopy and captures most prey in mid-air ("hawking") or by hover-gleaning foliage with sallies from the perch. It occasionally will sally to near or even onto the ground.