Order Passeriformes | Phylum Chordata Family Tyrannidae Scientific name Myiarchus tyrannulus Rank Species | |
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Similar Myiarchus, Bird, Tyrant flycatcher, Dusky‑capped flycatcher, Ash‑throated flycatcher | ||
Brown crested flycatcher
The brown-crested flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus) is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family.
Contents
Brown crested flycatcher
Description
Adult brown-crested flycatchers are 20.3 cm (8.0 in) long and weigh 30 g (1.1 oz) and have heavy bills. The upperparts are olive brown, with a darker head and short crest. The breast is grey and the belly is lemon yellow. The brown tail feathers have rufous inner webs, the remiges have rufous outer webs, and there are two dull wing bars. The sexes are similar.
The brown-crested flycatcher is best separated from other confusingly similar Myiarchus species by its call, a rough loud "come HERE, come HERE" or "whit-will-do, whit-will-do".
Distribution and ecology
The brown-crested flycatcher breeds in open woodland from southern California, southern Nevada, central Arizona, and southern Texas southward to Argentina and Bolivia, and on Trinidad and Tobago. It is resident in most of its range, but individuals breeding in the United States retreat to Mexico or southern Florida in winter.
This species is a rather skulking insectivore which catches its prey by flycatching amongst the undergrowth. It sometimes eats fruit, such as the "gumbo-limbo", Bursera simaruba. The nest is built in a tree cavity or similar natural or man-made hole, and the normal clutch is two or three purple-marked cream eggs.
