Cattle Tyrant - feeding
First photo of a cattle tyrant on an animal at the reserve. An uncommon habit here where there are no big mammals. In the field, instead, they stand on cattle or horses and eat their parasites or stay nearby to catch insects as these big mammals move or eat.
It seems the southern screamer has nothing to peck at. It uses the screamer as another platform among many others like branches, bottles or any object, but the screamer may be also a moving one just like the machine.
But another feeding technique is the little runs, behaviour normally seen in open areas like the grassy area at Viamonte. With an upright posture and on the alert for prey, it rushes off as the prey is detected. If necessary it ay adorn the little run with a pirouette to get the morsel.
