Short-crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus ferox
Fairly large flycatcher, mostly gray-brown above with a pale throat and pale yellow belly. Different subspecies vary in the tone of the upperparts, which may be warm or cold toned but all have dark bills. Found in savannas, semi-open woodlands, and at forest edges. Best distinguished from similar flycatchers by call: a short “police-officer” whistle “prrrih.”
Taxonomy
The short-crested 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 ferox. The specific epithet ferox is from Latin and means "brave", "wild" or "fierce". Gmelin based his description primarily on "Le tyran de Cayenne" that had been described in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson. Brisson had examined both male and female specimens that had been sent to France from Cayenne. The short-crested flycatcher is now one of 22 flycatchers placed in the genus Myiarchus that was introduced in 1844 by Jean Cabanis. Within the genus Myiarchus, the short-crested flycatcher is genetically closely related to the Panama flycatcher (Myiarchus panamensis).<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Myiarchus ferox
- Authority
- (Gmelin, JF, 1789)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Myiarchus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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A striking, mostly dark harrier with large white panels in the underwings, a white rump, and bands on the tail. The juvenile is brown with white flashes in the underwings and has a heavily-streaked chest. It quarters low over heath-like fynbos, semi-desert Karoo, and dune brush hunting for small birds and mammals. Regularly disperses irruptively north into grasslands and steppe from January to July.
Black-breasted Parrotbill
Paradoxornis flavirostris
A large, odd-looking parrotbill with a big yellow bill. Note the white face bordered by a black ear-patch and breast. Inhabits wetlands with tall reeds and grasses. Calls include a loud, nasal “cr-crwee-crwee-crwee-...” and some other repeated non-nasal notes such as “whit-whit-whit-...”. Forages among reeds in pairs or small groups.
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