This is the smallest subspecies and it ranges throughout the Amazon basin. Note long bill with orange gape which helps distinguish this species from lookalikes. Great Kiskadee is a widespread aggressive flycatcher which is mimicked closely by several other species, some of which are not closely related. Prum (Zool J Linn Soc, 172: 910-941, 2014) speculated that interspecific social dominance mimicry improves survival for the mimics by reducing competition for limited resources. However this hypothesis fails to account for the fact that, like most species, the Great Kiskadee is highly territorial and vigorously drives away conspecifics which have invaded their space. Predator avoidance seems to be a more likely explanation. The Great Kiskadee is a fierce defender, often attacking larger birds and driving them away. The unrelated Kiskadee mimics may improve survival by avoiding notice by predators and falsely signalling that they are the fierce and aggressive Great Kiskadee. Canon PowerShot SX60 HS. Canon PowerShot SX60 HS.
References:
Brush, T. and J. W. Fitzpatrick (2002). Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.622
Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/grekis
Mobley, J. (2019). Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/57461 on 2 August 2019).
Prum, R. O. (2014), Social Mimicry in Birds. Zool J Linn Soc, 172: 910-941. doi:10.1111/zoj.12192