Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus forficatus
Large flycatcher with an extremely long, forked tail. Pale gray overall with darker wings and a salmon-colored wash on the belly. In flight, look for brighter salmon underwings. Juveniles are duller and shorter-tailed than adults, but still distinctive. Breeds in open country of Texas and neighboring states, where it is often seen on fenceposts and utility wires. Winters mainly on the Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America, where it sometimes gathers in large flocks. Might be confused with Fork-tailed Flycatcher in winter range, but note paler plumage with salmon underwings.
Identification
Adult birds have pale gray heads and upper parts, light underparts, salmon-pink flanks and undertail coverts, and dark gray wings. Axillars and patch on underwing coverts are red. Their extremely long, forked tails, which are black on top and white on the underside, are characteristic and unmistakable. At maturity, the male may be up to 15 in (38 cm) in length, while the female's tail is up to 30% shorter. The wingspan is 15 cm (5.9 in) and the weight is up to 43 g (1.5 oz). Immature birds are duller in color and have shorter tails. A lot of these birds have been reported to be more than 40 cm (16 in).[citation needed]
Taxonomy
The scissor-tailed flycatcher was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa forficata. The specific epithet is from Latin forfex, forficis meaning "a pair of scissors". Gmelin based his description on "Le moucherolle à queue fourchue du Mexique" (French: "the Mexican swallow-tailed flycatcher") that had been described in 1778 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon from a specimen from Mexico and illustrated with a hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet. The scissor-tailed flycatcher is now one of 13 species placed in the kingbird genus Tyrannus that was introduced in 1799 by Bernard Germain de Lacépède. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. <p>Within the genus Tyrannus, the scissor-tailed flycatcher is most closely related to the western kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis). In eastern Arkansas and western Tennessee, there is a hybrid breeding zone where the scissor-tailed flycatcher and the western kingbird are sympatric and possibly compete for the same niche. Both these species have simultaneously expanded their breeding ranges eastward over the past 50 years.
- Scientific name
- Tyrannus forficatus
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Tyrannus
Range and habitat
Their breeding habitat is open shrubby country with scattered trees in the south-central states of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, western portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri west to far eastern New Mexico and northeastern Mexico. Reported sightings record occasional stray visitors as far north as southern Canada and Upstate New York, as far east as Florida and Georgia, and in the West Indies. They migrate through Texas and eastern Mexico to their winter non-breeding range, from southern Mexico to Panama. Pre-migratory roosts and flocks flying south may contain as many as 1000 birds.
- Breeding range
- NA : c USA to ne Mexico
- Non-breeding range
- w Mexico to Panama
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Two-banded Warbler
Myiothlypis bivittata
Small, yellowish bird with a fine black bill and distinctive black stripes on head. Mostly green above and yellow below; has rufous or orange crown bordered by black, but crown color can be difficult to ascertain. Note olive eyebrow becoming yellow in front of eye, and bright pinkish-yellow legs. Inhabits dense understory of foothill forests along the eastern slope of the southern Andes and in the tepui region. Usually occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage actively for insects, often joining mixed-species flocks. Song in tepuis is a series of chips followed by a high-pitched, screeching note. In southern part of range, song is very different: a rich rollicking series of notes that may vaguely recall House Wren and is often given by pairs as a duet. In southern Andes, most similar to Golden-bellied Warbler but has olive (not entirely yellow) eyebrow; also similar to Golden-crowned Warbler but typically occurs at higher elevations and has olive (not whitish) eyebrow.
Red-fan Parrot
Deroptyus accipitrinus
Parrot of lowland rainforest; usually looks dark and long-tailed at a distance. At close range, easily told by white crown and diagnostic red-and-blue “fan,” which is usually held flat against the neck but may be extended when birds are excited. Distinctive flapping-and-gliding flight style is unique among Amazonian parrots. Often observed foraging in small groups or perched on bare branches along edges of clearings and along rivers. Most common call a stuttering, grating screech, somewhat similar to Black-headed and White-bellied parrots.
Rufous-bellied Kookaburra
Dacelo gaudichaud
A distinctive large kingfisher of lowland forest. Black cap, white collar, blue wing and rump, and rufous belly. Found in the understorey where it scans for its prey of lizards and insects. Superficially similar to the much rarer Shovel-billed Kookaburra, but Rufous-bellied Kookaburra has a blue rather than brown wing, and a longer, paler bill. Several different vocalizations. Call, a repeated, harsh, loud “rek!” note given while flicking its tail slightly; and a hollow rolling call given whilst lifting its tail right up.
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