Brown-crested Flycatcher

The Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus) is a large, handsomely proportioned member of the tyrant flycatcher family. Well-known for its assertive personality and loud, ringing calls, this species is a migratory summer breeder in the southwestern United States and a year-round resident throughout much of Mexico, Central America, and South America. It possesses the characteristic upright, alert posture of the genus Myiarchus, often perched conspicuously on high branches or cacti while scanning for prey. Both sexes are identical in plumage, featuring an olive-brown back, a pale gray throat and breast, and a soft yellow belly.

Identifying the Brown-crested Flycatcher requires close attention to structural proportions, bill size, and vocalizations, as it highly resembles other Myiarchus species.

Key Field Marks:

• Size and Structure: It is the largest Myiarchus flycatcher regularly found in the United States, presenting a bulky appearance with a noticeably large head and a prominent bushy crest that it frequently raises when excited.
• Bill: The bill is long, thick, heavy, and almost entirely black. The size and heft of the bill help distinguish it from smaller relatives.
• Plumage: Olive-brown upperparts contrast with dry-gray throat and upper breast panels. The lower breast and belly are a clear, pale lemon-yellow. The wings feature two pale, whitish-to-cinnamon wingbars and pale edges on the secondary feathers.
• Tail: The inner webs of the tail feathers are extensively rufous-colored, which creates a flash of warm cinnamon-orange when the tail is spread or when the bird is in flight.

Similar Species:

• Ash-throated Flycatcher: Significantly smaller with a narrower, shorter bill. The yellow on its belly is much paler, sometimes approaching a creamy-white, and it lacks the rich rufous tone in the tail.
• Great Crested Flycatcher: Though similar in size, the Great Crested has a much brighter, saturated yellow belly, darker charcoal-gray throat, and a brighter green-olive back. The Great Crested is primarily eastern, while the Brown-crested is western, though their ranges overlap slightly in southern Texas.

Brown-crested Flycatchers occupy a variety of semi-open, arid, and subtropical environments across their range.

In the United States, they are highly associated with two primary habitats: lush riparian woodlands dominated by cottonwoods, sycamores, and willows, and arid desert scrub containing giant saguaro cacti. Further south in Mexico and Central America, they utilize tropical deciduous forests, thorn woodlands, pine-oak forests, and suburban parks.

The northern populations are strictly migratory, arriving on their breeding grounds in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas in late spring (typically late April or May) and departing for their wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America by late August. Southern populations are largely sedentary year-round.

Feeding and Foraging: The Brown-crested Flycatcher is an active aerial predator. It typically hunts from a mid-to-high perch, utilizing a 'sally' technique where it flies out to snatch flying insects from mid-air before returning to a perch. It also gleans insects directly from foliage, twigs, and cactus trunks. Its diet consists of beetles, cicadas, bees, wasps, grasshoppers, and caterpillars. During late summer and on wintering grounds, they supplement this diet with small berries and fruits.

Vocalizations: This species is highly vocal. Its primary call is a loud, explosive, and sharp 'whip!' or 'whit!', which is significantly louder and sharper than the softer calls of the Ash-throated Flycatcher. It also utters a harsh, rolling, descending rattle or 'purr-r-rt' sound.

Nesting: Like other Myiarchus flycatchers, the Brown-crested is a cavity nester. It utilizes abandoned woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti, dead trees, or telephone poles, and will occasionally use artificial nest boxes. The nest is a cup built inside the cavity using grasses, weed stems, hair, feathers, and occasionally pieces of shed snakeskin or plastic wrapping.