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Search Issues: Update 2026-09-16 - Repairs to some of our search pages are ongoing. Thank you for your continued patience!
Meanwhile, elements of the Advanced Search are working and the Alphabetical Listings are working, too.
Vermilion Flycatcher, a bird (see Hunn, attestations)
See an image that represents tlapaltototl in the Visual Lexicon of Aztec Hieroglyphs, ed. Stephanie Wood (Eugene, Ore.: Wired Humanities, 2020-present).
TLAPAL-TŌTŌ-TL, literally, “dyed red bird,” Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) [FC: 47 Tlapaltototl] “Its body, its feathers are an over-all chili-red, but its wings, its tail are ashen, well colored, well textured. It is very chili-red, the color of dried chili. It is a night-singer…. Four times, five times a night does it sing. It is not fat.” Martin del Campo identified this as the Vermilion Flycatcher, which fits the description of its plumage. Also, in support of this identification is the fact that this flycatcher’s song, “a rapid … bubbling trill” “may be given at night” (Howell & Webb).