Flycatchers- ORDER: Passeriformes
- FAMILY: Tyrannidae
Basic Description
With a sandy brown back and warm buffy blush across the chest, the Buff-breasted Flycatcher is one of the brightest and easiest to identify of the famously confusing Empidonax flycatchers. This tropical species reaches extreme southern Arizona and New Mexico (including the beautiful "Sky Islands" region), where it lives in mountain canyons with open pine-oak forests, particularly ones that burn regularly. It typically forages by sitting upright on a favored perch and flying out to catch insects in midair.
More ID InfoFind This Bird
Buff-breasted Flycatchers can be easy to find in spring and early summer when males are singing their short chee-lick or chee-lick chou song. Watch for these rather small, inconspicuous birds flitting about in the crown of large pines, or flying out short distances from a slender perch and then returning to the same spot.
Other Names
- Mosquero Pechicanelo (Spanish)
- Moucherolle beige (French)
- Cool Facts
- Although the Buff-breasted Flycatcher is a tiny bird, it is apparently fearless when nesting. One male even chased off a Magnificent Frigatebird that came too close!
- Buff-breasted Flycatchers build their nests in larger trees directly beneath a protective feature such as a branch or stub. This may serve to protect the nestlings from rain and sun, keep the nest slightly warmer on cool nights, and conceal the nest from predators and nest parasites such as cowbirds.
- Buff-breasted Flycatchers sometimes adorn the outside of their nests with lichen and feathers, including feathers of species such as Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Bluebird, and Mexican Whip-poor-will.
- The Buff-breasted Flycatcher may benefit by periodic forest fires which clear away dense undergrowth and make foraging easier for them.