SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 
171 
FIG. 1. (A). Smoky Bush Tyrant nest in open shrub 
habitat. October 2009. Yanayacu Biological Station. Napo, 
Ecuador. (B). Nest with eggs of Smoky Bush Tyrant 
'Photograph A and B by T. Stawarczyk). (C). Egg of 
Smoky Bush Tyrant (Photograph by J. Simbana). 
Ic, ng on the coronal, occipital, and dorsal tracts 
1 pterylography follows Wethcrbee 1957). The 
young weighed 5.0 and 3.6 g. respectively. We 
weighed the nestlings on 23 October, when they 
weighed 21.7 and 19.2 g. respectively and on 26 
October when they weighed 27.7 and 24.4 g. 
respectively. The first fully feathered fledgling 
toft the nest on 2 November and the second on 3 
November, for a nestling period ot 16-17 days. 
Parental Care— Adult Smoky Bush Tyrants do 
not show sexual dimorphism and were not 
individually marked; we were unable to describe 
the role of the male and female in parental care. 
However, two adults took part in incubation, as in 
three cases both birds were visible simultaneously 
while changing places at the nest. Similarly, both 
parents cared for the nestlings, occasionally 
arriving simultaneously at the nest with food. 
Adults did not fly straight into the nest when 
approaching but stopped at a few preferred 
perches for 10-30 sec. apparently surveying the 
area surrounding the nest. We saw adult Smoky 
Bush Tyrants aggressively pursuing a Tropical 
Kingbird (Tyrannus inelancholicus) on three 
occasions and twice chasing a Pale-edged Fly¬ 
catcher (Myiarchus cephalotes). when these 
species approached to within 15-20 m of the 
nest. The bush tyrants began calling on one 
occasion when two Inca Jays (Cytmocorax yncas) 
passed nearby. We observed no aggressive 
behavior towards oiher bird species passing 
through the Smoky Bush Tyrant territory. 
The third bird, first seen on the day of the nest’s 
discovery, was later observed on several othei 
occasions. It was not seen closer than 15-20 m 
during incubation. The third bird was observed 
closer to the nest after nestlings hatched, but was 
not recorded carrying food or feeding nestlings. It 
visited the nesting site on one occasion when both 
parents were within 1.0-1.5 m ot the nest. It was 
fully tolerated by both parents and was not chased 
as with other intruders. 
An adult brooded for 70.3% of the observation 
period during the first 2 days after hatching 
(7.3 hrs of filming), remaining in the nest for an 
average of 34 min per brooding bout (n ~ 9, range 
= 14_74 min). An adult brooded for 62.9% in the 
next 3 days (16.7 hrs of filming) and stayed in the 
nest for an average of 11.8 min per brooding bout 
(„ = 78, range = 2-39 min). The parents brooded 
for only 5% of daylight observation periods 
during the second week ol observation and 
stopped brooding entirely in the third week. 
Adults provisioned young at a rate of 0.6 times 
per nestling/hr (9 trips in 7.3 hrs), when the 
nestlings were 1-2 days of age but. during the 
next 3 days (nestlings = 3-5 days of age), they 
provisioned at a rate of 2.3 times per nestling/hr 
(n = 78 trips in 16.7 hrs). The provisioning rate 
increased to 4.0 times per nestling/hr (/i = 167 trips 
in 21 hrs) during the second w'eek, whereas in the 
third w'eek the provisioning rate was 4.3 times per 
