Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

Codes: Common Name: BCFL Scientific Name: MYITYR ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178312

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Overview

Brown-crested Flycatcher: Medium-sized flycatcher with olive-brown upperparts, yellow underparts, and pale gray throat. Bill is long, stout, and solid black. Wings have rufous patches. Tail is long and rufous. Legs and feet are black. Direct flight with rapid wing beats. Hovers and dips for prey.

Range and Habitat

Brown-crested Flycatcher: Breeds from southern California, southern Nevada, central Arizona, and southern Texas southward. Spends winters mainly south of the U.S.-Mexico border; few winter in southern Florida. Preferred habitats include arid lands in areas with cacti or large trees.

Topo Map: Perching-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"come HERE- come HERE", " whit-will-do, whit-will-do", "wit"

Interesting Facts

The Brown-crested Flycatcher’s former name, "Wied's Crested Flycatcher," was in honor of Prince Maximilian of Wied, a German naturalist and traveler in early-19th-century America.

Cicadas are an important food item, but they prefer the silent, egg-laden females. Male cicadas let loose with a tirade of buzzing when caught and the flycatchers often release them in response.

They are about 10% larger than the Ash-throated Flycatcher in most dimensions, but their bill is larger by 25%, with a more prominent hook.

A group of flycatchers has many collective nouns, including an "outfield", "swatting", "zapper", and "zipper" of flycatchers.

Bird Term Glossary

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Brown-crested Flycatcher

● Song: "come HERE- come HERE", " whit-will-do, whit-will-do", "wit"

● Foraging & Feeding: Brown-crested Flycatcher: Feeds on insects, berries, and other fruits; has been observed eating hummingbirds.

● Breeding & nesting: Brown-crested Flycatcher: Three to six white to buff eggs with brown and lavender blotches are laid in a nest lined with feathers, fibers, and hairs, and built in a tree cavity, cactus, or on a fence post. Incubation ranges from 13 to 15 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Brown-crested Flycatcher: Great Crested has darker gray throat and breast and rust-brown tail. Ash-throated has paler yellow underparts and rust-brown tail.

Flight Pattern

Buoyant flight with steady fast wing beats.

Brown-crested Flycatcher Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Brown-crested Flycatcher: Breeds from southern California, southern Nevada, central Arizona, and southern Texas southward. Spends winters mainly south of the U.S.-Mexico border; few winter in southern Florida. Preferred habitats include arid lands in areas with cacti or large trees.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationFairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.5 Ounces

Perching-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America