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Brown-crested Flycatcher | Myiarchus tyrannulus
Cayennetiran | Copetón tiranillo
The Brown-crested Flycatcher is a large Myiarchus with a vast range, from the south-western United States to Argentina. In the Caribbean it is resident on Trinidad, Tobago and the ABC Islands, home to the nominate subspecies. Genetic studies suggest that Grenada Flycatcher Myiarchus nugator of Grenada and Saint Vincent is a close relative and may belong to this species.
Voice
A sharp, emphatic wheet and a rasping, grating prrrt. The dawn song consists of isolated wheet notes alternating with more complex phrases.
Recording: JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA — CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · converted to mono · xeno-canto
Identification
18–20 cm; Caribbean birds belong to the smaller forms. The grey-brown crown has dark feather shafts and forms a bushy crest. The back is greyish olive-brown. Throat and upper breast are pale grey, the belly bright yellow. The wings have rufous edges to the primaries and pale edges to the coverts, and the tail feathers have rufous inner webs. The bill is black and fairly heavy, the iris brown. The sexes are alike.
Confusion species
Venezuelan Flycatcher Myiarchus venezuelensis on Tobago is slightly smaller and finer-billed, with little or no rufous in the tail and plaintive whistled calls. Dusky-capped Flycatcher Myiarchus tuberculifer on Trinidad is smaller, with a distinctly dark cap. Grenada Flycatcher Myiarchus nugator lives on other islands. Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus has no crest, a forked tail and a yellow breast.
Habitat
Dry woodland, thorn and cactus scrub, coastal scrub, mangroves, plantations and gardens with large trees. It hunts insects from a perch and also eats fruit. For nesting it depends on large cavities in trees or columnar cacti.
Where the bird is most at home, classified by the vegetation types of the Caribbean.
Range and movements
Resident on Trinidad, Tobago, Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. Outside the region from the south-western United States and Mexico through Central America and much of South America to northern Argentina; the northernmost populations move south in winter.
- Resident
- Summer visitor (c. Oct–Mar)
- Winter visitor (c. Apr–Sep)
- Passage (Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov)
- dark = core range, pale = thinly spread
How and when to look
On the ABC Islands one of the common birds of cactus scrub and dry kunuku country, often perched on a columnar cactus or in a tree near gardens. On Trinidad and Tobago mainly in dry, open country and mangroves; on Tobago any Myiarchus deserves a second look because of Venezuelan Flycatcher.
Conservation status
Not threatened. The species has a very large range and adapts well to gardens and disturbed land, provided nest cavities are available.
Scientific name
Myiarchus tyrannulus | (Müller, 1776)
Müller described the species in 1776 as Muscicapa tyrannulus; because it was later moved to another genus, the author and year stand in brackets. The genus Myiarchus was introduced in 1844 by Cabanis. Myiarchus is Greek, from muia 'fly' and arkhos 'ruler': 'fly-ruler'. tyrannulus is Latin for 'little tyrant', diminutive of tyrannus. The specimen the first description was based on came from Cayenne, French Guiana.