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The species currently referred to as "Brownish Flycatcher" was formerly known as "Brownish Twistwing", until the
A.O.U., in its infinite wisdom, decided to dumb-down the common name. Most birders still refer to the bird as "Twistwing", a
moniker that honors this bird's unique bent primaries, plus its habit of lifting and bending its wing.
In July of 2005, I was birding along Panama's Pipeline Road with my small birding group, while we waited for our guide,
José Soto, to retrieve the parked Bird-Mobile. I recognized a location as the spot at which we had found the Twistwing
the year before, and thought I recognized a soft whistle as the call of this species. We tried in vain to locate the bird for several
minutes, but the bird (of course) remained hidden until José arrived, at which time we found it
right beside the road. I was treated to excellent views of the Twistwing engaging in the wing-lifting
behavior, although I was not fast enough to capture it on film. The image below is a bit dark, but decent given this flycatcher's habit
of lurking in the undergrowth, and does show the bent primaries quite well.
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