Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus savana
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
- FamilyTyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers)
- GenusTyrannus (Kingbirds)
- SpeciesTyrannus savana (Fork-tailed Flycatcher)
About the Fork-tailed Flycatcher
The fork-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) is a passerine bird of the tyrant flycatcher family and is a member of a genus typically referred to as kingbirds. Named for the long, forked tail, particularly in males, fork-tailed flycatchers are seen in shrubland, savanna, lightly forested and grassland areas, from southern Mexico to Argentina. They are frequently observed on conspicuous perches whence they sally after insect prey. Northern populations near southern Mexico tend to be permanent residents, while fork-tailed flycatchers that live further south are migrants with a reputation for wandering as far north as New Brunswick, Canada.
The fork-tailed flycatcher was described in 1760 by Mathurin Jacques Brisson under the French name "le tyran à queue fourchue" (lit. 'the fork-tailed tyrant') and then again in 1780 by Georges-Louis Buffon under the name "le savana" (because it lived in savannahs), but it was not until 1802 that François Marie Daudin coined the binomial name Tyrannus savana. The type locality is Suriname.
Four subspecies are recognised: Tyrannus savana monachus Hartlaub, 1844 – southern Mexico to Colombia, the Guianas, and northern Brazil Tyrannus savana... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Fork-tailed Flycatcher in Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Couch's Kingbird
Tyrannus couchii
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Gray Kingbird
Tyrannus dominicensis
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus forficatus
Great Kiskadee
Pitangus sulphuratus
Caribbean Elaenia
Elaenia martinica
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Elaenia flavogaster
Brown-crested Flycatcher
Myiarchus tyrannulus
Northern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Camptostoma imberbe
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Contopus virens
Dusky-capped Flycatcher
Myiarchus tuberculifer
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.