Ash-throated Flycatcher
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Medium flycatcher with gray-brown upperparts, pale gray throat and breast, and gray-brown tail with rufous highlights. The pale yellow belly distinguishes this species from other Myiarchus flycatchers. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Strong flight with shallow wing beats.
● Song:
"prrrt", "ka-brik", "ka-brik"
● Foraging & Feeding:
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Feeds on insects, flying from perch to capture them in flight or taking them on the ground; occasionally eats fruits, berries, and small lizards.
● Breeding & nesting:
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Three to seven brown-streaked, white eggs are laid in a loose cup of grass, rootlets, and stems built in a natural tree cavity less than 20 feet above the ground. Sometimes nests in an abandoned woodpecker hole; may displace smaller birds from an occupied cavity. Nest is lined with fur, hair, and sometimes snakeskin. Female incubates eggs for about 15 days; often leaves nest for hours at a time, especially during the hottest part of the day.
● Similar species:
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Nutting's Flycatcher has darker yellow belly, olive-brown upperparts, orange mouth lining, and a different voice. Dark-capped Flycatcher is smaller with brighter yellow underparts, lacks rufous on tail, and has different voice.
● Range & Habitat:
Ash-throated Flycatcher: Breeds as far north as Oregon and Washington, as far east as central Texas, and as far south as central Mexico. Preferred habitats include open woodlands, streamside thickets, oak scrub, dry plains spotted with trees or cacti, and deserts.