Black-billed Flycatcher vs Choke

Aphanotriccus audax compared with Epichloe typhina

Key Differences

• Black-billed Flycatcher is Near Threatened while Choke is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-billed Flycatcher	Choke
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Passeriformes (Songbirds)	Hypocreales (Hypocreales)
Family	Tyrannidae	Clavicipitaceae
Genus	Aphanotriccus	Epichloe
Species	Aphanotriccus audax	Epichloe typhina

Conservation Status

Black-billed Flycatcher

NT — Near Threatened

Choke

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-billed Flycatcher	Choke
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-billed Flycatcher

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Norway, and Panama. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Choke

Habitat

Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in United States.

Black-billed Flycatcher

The Black-billed Flycatcher (Aphanotriccus audax) is a species in the genus Aphanotriccus. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Choke

Choke (Epichloe typhina) is an endophytic and pathogenic fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae, phylum Ascomycota, that colonises the tissues of various cool-season grasses (Poaceae) across Europe and North America. The name refers to the disease it causes — infected grass tillers are typically 'choked' (prevented from flowering) when the fungus produces a dense, white to cream-coloured, stromata (a compact fungal structure) that surrounds the flowering stem before it can emerge, suppressing seed production. Epichloe species exist along a mutualism-parasitism continuum; some strains are biotrophic endophytes living almost entirely within grass tissues without obvious symptoms and conferring benefits to the host such as increased drought resistance and deterrence of herbivores through alkaloid production, while others — including E. typhina — are more parasitic in nature, sterilising infected host tillers. The fungus spreads via airborne ascospores produced on its stroma that infect new host plants. Related Epichloe/Neotyphodium endophytes are of great practical importance to agriculture as they produce ergot alkaloids and other compounds that can cause toxicosis in livestock grazing infected pasture grasses. As a fungal pathogen/endophyte rather than a wildlife species, it is Not Evaluated by the IUCN.