Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderPasseriformes (Perching Birds)
FamilyTyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers)
GenusTyrannus (Kingbirds)
SpeciesTyrannus forficatus (Scissor-tailed Flycatcher)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Saguaro National Park

3 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026

2,777 Verified sightings across all 39 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

The scissor-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus), known as swallow-tailed flycatcher or scissorstail, is a long-tailed insectivorous bird of the genus Tyrannus, whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. It is found in North and Central America, and is Oklahoma's State Bird.

The scissor-tailed flycatcher was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the flycatchers in the genus Muscicapa and coined the binomial name Muscicapa forficata. The specific epithet is from Latin forfex, forficis meaning "a pair of scissors". Gmelin based his description on "Le moucherolle à queue fourchue du Mexique" (French: "the Mexican swallow-tailed flycatcher") that had been described in 1778 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon from a specimen from Mexico and illustrated with a hand-coloured engraving by François-Nicolas Martinet.

The scissor-tailed flycatcher is now one of 13 species placed in the kingbird genus Tyrannus that was introduced in 1799 by Bernard Germain de Lacépède. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. Within the... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park

Tyrannus vociferans

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Tyrannus verticalis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Tyrannus melancholicus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Tyrannus tyrannus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Tyrannus crassirostris

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Pyrocephalus rubinus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Sayornis nigricans

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Sayornis saya

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Myiarchus cinerascens

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC Endemic

Contopus sordidulus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

LC Endemic

Empidonax difficilis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Daily sighting probability
1	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~30%
2	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	~10%
3	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	~10%
4	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
5	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
6	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	~10%
7	Masaya Volcano National Park	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	<5%
8	Rincón de la Vieja National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
9	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
10	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
11	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
12	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
13	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
14	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
15	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
16	Big Bend National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
17	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
18	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
19	Shenandoah National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
20	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
21	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
22	El Triunfo	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
23	Celaque National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
24	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
25	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
26	Yosemite National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
27	Lago de Yojoa	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
28	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
29	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
30	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
31	Death Valley National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
32	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
33	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
34	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
35	Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
36	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
37	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	Insufficient data
38	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
39	Saguaro National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data

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Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

About the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park

Cassin's Kingbird

Western Kingbird

Tropical Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

Thick-billed Kingbird

Vermilion Flycatcher

Black Phoebe

Say's Phoebe

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found