Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

General

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Medium-sized flycatcher with pale gray upperparts and head, white underparts and throat, salmon-pink sides and flanks, and dark brown wings with white edges. Tail is long and scissor-like, black above with white outer edges and white below with black inner edges. Male's tail is longer than female's. Juvenile is paler overall with yellow or pink wash on underparts and shorter tail.

Range and Habitat

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Breeds from eastern Colorado and Nebraska south to Texas and western Louisiana. Spends winters south of U.S.-Mexico border; a few in southern Florida. Preferred habitats include open country along roadsides and on ranches with scattered trees and bushes; often seen on fence posts and utility wires.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"Ka-quee-ka-quee", "ka-lup", "bik", "kew".

Interesting Facts

Male Scissor-tailed Flycatchers perform a “sky dance” as part of their courtship ritual which includes acrobatics like reverse somersaults.

This bird nests in seven states but is exclusively the state bird of Oklahoma.

These birds are economically important because they consume large quantities of grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects that can be harmful to crops.

A group of scissor-tailed flycatchers has many collective nouns, including "a pinking of flycatchers", "a snip of flycatchers", and a "zipper of flycatchers."

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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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.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Medium flycatcher with pale gray upperparts and head, white underparts and throat, salmon-pink sides and flanks, and dark brown wings with white edges. Tail is long and scissor-like, black above with white outer edges and white below with black inner edges.

● Song: "Ka-quee-ka-quee", "ka-lup", "bik", "kew".

● Foraging & Feeding: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Eats insects, especially grasshoppers and crickets. Perches on branch, utility wire, or fence, flying down to capture prey on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Three to six white eggs with red, brown, olive, and gray blotches are laid in a nest made of twigs, lined with rootlets, grass, weeds, and hair, and built from 7 to 40 feet above the ground in a tree, shrub, utility pole, post, building, or other man-made structure. Incubation ranges from 14 to 17 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Fork-tailed Flycatcher has a black head and white sides and flanks, it is a casual to accidental vagrant. Western Kingbird is similar to the short-tailed juvenile but has yellow underparts, olive-green tinted back, and a squared tail.

Flight Pattern

Light buoyant direct flight with shallow wing beats. Hovers briefly over prey before dipping to pick it up.

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: Breeds from eastern Colorado and Nebraska south to Texas and western Louisiana. Spends winters south of U.S.-Mexico border; a few in southern Florida. Preferred habitats include open country along roadsides and on ranches with scattered trees and bushes; often seen on fence posts and utility wires.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationAccidental to casual

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.5 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America