Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus savanaOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

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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.

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

Field Guide to Birds of North America