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 Machalilla National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Machalilla National Park
Tropical Kingbird
Tyrannus melancholicus
Snowy-throated Kingbird
Tyrannus niveigularis
Eastern Kingbird
Tyrannus tyrannus
Southern Beardless-Tyrannulet
Camptostoma obsoletum
Fulvous-headed Pygmy-Tyrant
Euscarthmus fulviceps
Tumbes Pewee
Contopus punensis
Baird's Flycatcher
Myiodynastes bairdii
Boat-billed Flycatcher
Megarynchus pitangua
Yellow-bellied Elaenia
Elaenia flavogaster
Masked Water-Tyrant
Fluvicola nengeta
Common Tody-Flycatcher
Todirostrum cinereum
Scale-crested Pygmy-Tyrant
Lophotriccus pileatus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.