Except for their varying sizes and wide range of colors, all tyrant flycatchers seem quite similar in appearance and behavior to me. At least this is the case with the specific members of this largest of bird families that I encounter near my home in the American Southwest. However, the vast majority of these New World species can be found in their diverse habitats throughout Latin America.
In Arizona I can usually start to identify a flycatcher when I see a small bird perched upright on a pole or branch. Of course many birds sit still from a safe vantage point like a street lamp, but it's only the flycatcher that I notice leaping and fluttering from that position in a unique acrobatic hunting display. Nine times out of ten he returns to that exact same safe place to try his luck at another chance for more insects.
Just last week on a short walk in my Phoenix neighborhood I encountered three flycatchers, all similarly hunting for bugs. I believe each is a year-round resident so they're tougher than me as they brave the desert's extreme summer heat. And these three species specifically offer a contrasting glimpse at their dramatic color variations.
The Say's phoebe is probably the plainest and least showy while the black phoebe is not surprisingly the darkest. He's also the noisiest, frequently peeping as if sonar is helping locate his prey. But it's the vermilion flycatcher that's the most alluring with the male sporting his namesake red breast, belly and head feathers. I have had a lot of lucky finding him peering from tree branches, glowing like a stop-light against green leaves and turf.
A walk through your neighborhood is a great way to get to know the people in your community. It's also a better way to meet other members of the animal kingdom, and, on any given day, maybe three species out of four hundred tyrant flycatchers.
In Arizona I can usually start to identify a flycatcher when I see a small bird perched upright on a pole or branch. Of course many birds sit still from a safe vantage point like a street lamp, but it's only the flycatcher that I notice leaping and fluttering from that position in a unique acrobatic hunting display. Nine times out of ten he returns to that exact same safe place to try his luck at another chance for more insects.
Just last week on a short walk in my Phoenix neighborhood I encountered three flycatchers, all similarly hunting for bugs. I believe each is a year-round resident so they're tougher than me as they brave the desert's extreme summer heat. And these three species specifically offer a contrasting glimpse at their dramatic color variations.
The Say's phoebe is probably the plainest and least showy while the black phoebe is not surprisingly the darkest. He's also the noisiest, frequently peeping as if sonar is helping locate his prey. But it's the vermilion flycatcher that's the most alluring with the male sporting his namesake red breast, belly and head feathers. I have had a lot of lucky finding him peering from tree branches, glowing like a stop-light against green leaves and turf.
A walk through your neighborhood is a great way to get to know the people in your community. It's also a better way to meet other members of the animal kingdom, and, on any given day, maybe three species out of four hundred tyrant flycatchers.
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| Male vermilion flycatcher last week in Phoenix. |
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| Male vermilion flycatcher last week in Phoenix. |
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| Black phoebe last week in Phoenix. |
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| Black phoebe last week in Phoenix. |
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| Say's phoebe last week in Phoenix. |
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| Say's phoebe last week in Phoenix. |
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