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Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus savanaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

Fork-tailed Flycatcher Breeding Male Portrait
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General

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Medium-sized flycatcher with pale gray upperparts, black head, inconspicuous yellow crown stripe, and white underparts. Wings and spectacularly long, deeply forked tail are black. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has brown head.

Range and Habitat

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Occurs from southern Mexico to Argentina, but strays to the eastern U.S. seaboard. Prefers savannas and pastures with trees or low bushes.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"ek-ek-ek-ek-ek", "sik", "plik"

Interesting Facts

 The Fork-tailed Flycatcher is a rare example of a neotropical resident species that strays regularly to the northeastern United States and Canada.

 Males have an extremely long forked tail, even longer than that of their cousin, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Juveniles and females have shorter tails.

 This bird was first described by French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot.

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



Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Range Map for Fork-tailed Flycatcher
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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.
Family Flycatcher (Tyrannidae)_blue
Species Tyrannus savana
Length14.5 Inches
Wingspan15 Inches

Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Medium-sized flycatcher with pale gray upperparts, black head, inconspicuous yellow crown stripe, and white underparts. Wings and spectacularly long, deeply forked tail are black. Wing linings are white. Swift flight with shallow wing beats. Feeds on insects.

● Song: "ek-ek-ek-ek-ek", "sik", "plik"

● Foraging & Feeding: Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Eats insects, berries, and fruits; forages by catching insects in air or plucking them from vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Two to three white eggs with brown and lavender spots are laid in a cup nest made of grass, plant fibers, leaves, and bark shreds lined with seed down, plant down, and hair. Incubation ranges from 14 to 17 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher has gray head and salmon-pink sides, flanks, and underwings.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight with shallow wing beats and long rippling tail streamers.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher Breeding Male Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Fork-tailed Flycatcher: Occurs from southern Mexico to Argentina, but strays to the eastern U.S. seaboard. Prefers savannas and pastures with trees or low bushes.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationCasual to accidental
MigrationMigratory
Weight1 Ounces