Great Crested Flycatcher
It really seems like a classic scenario that the most common and the largest family of birds in the world is found right here in North and South America, usually referred to as the “New World” and the crazy part is, you most likely have never heard of these birds. They are the flycatchers.
The Flycatchers, family Tyrannidae, have more than 400 different species in the New World. They are extremely common, and no doubt there is at least one kind of flycatcher in your yard, and you may not even realize it.
The different species in the flycatcher family vary greatly in size and color pattern; however, they all have a similar shape and, more importantly, they all have a similar strategy for finding and capturing food. The name “flycatcher” refers to this group of birds’ ability to hunt for insects, and more often they hunt while in flight. The typical flycatcher sits on a branch in an open or semi-open area and, using their keen eyesight, spots an unsuspecting insect flying by. The flycatcher bolts from the branch and snatches the insect from the sky before rapidly returning to the same perch to wait for another.
Most flycatchers are plain-looking, usually with hues of brown, gray, green, or yellow. Most are not super colorful-looking birds. There are some exceptions to this, such as the Vermilion Flycatcher, whose male is bright vermilion red, but in general most could be described as drab.
All flycatchers have a long, narrow, pointed bill, used for catching insects, and they all have excellent eyesight. As mentioned before, flycatchers inhabit just about every kind of habitat found in the Americas. From the lowland evergreen forests to the mountainous evergreen forests, to river bottoms and forest edges, even the semi-tropical regions of Florida to the deserts of the Southwestern United States. Some kind of flycatcher has made these habitats their home.
So, this spring, I was making and installing several natural cavity nest boxes on my property. A couple of these natural cavities were larger, and I thought perhaps I would get lucky and attract a nesting pair of Northern Flickers. Flickers are a type of woodpecker that often doesn’t excavate a nest cavity every spring and often nests in old cavities, so I thought I had a good chance to attract the flickers. In addition to installing this natural cavity nest, I also installed a camera so I could see if the flickers checked it out. I was all set.
Over the next weeks and months, what I saw was that no flickers checked out the nest, but rather a pair of Great Crested Flycatchers seemed very interested. The Great Crested Flycatcher is one of the largest of the flycatchers and is the most widespread flycatcher in the eastern half of the country. It is usually found on the treetops and rarely comes down low to the ground. Chances are that you have this bird in your yard and never realize it if you have tall trees. They have a bright lemon-yellow chest and belly and a long rusty red tail. They are very vocal and give a characteristic “weeeep” call, making them easy to identify.
It didn’t take long, and the pair of flycatchers started bringing in nesting material. In a few short weeks, the adult pair was feeding the babies within the cavity. A couple of times I set up a blind along with my long-lens camera and waited for the adults. I was able to capture some amazing images of the adults bringing in food for the babies. Sometimes in nature, when you expect a woodpecker, instead you get a flycatcher. Until next time…
About Stan
Stan Tekiela is an author, naturalist, and wildlife photographer who travels extensively to study and photograph wildlife. He can be followed on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, and contacted via his website at naturesmart.com.