Vermilion Flycatcher

Vermilion Flycatcher, male

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Vermilion Flycatcher, female, AZ, August

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1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A spectacular and distinctive flycatcher, the bright red Vermilion Flycatcher inhabits riparian areas and scrub in the southwestern United States and southward. It perches conspicuously, making periodic flights to nab insect prey.

Description

• Small flycatcher.
• Male has bright red or red-orange head and underparts.
• Female is dull grayish brown above, with pale red under the tail and a streaked whitish chest.

• Size: 13-14 cm (5-6 in)
• Weight: 11-14 g (0.39-0.49 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male is bright red on crown and underparts; female is dull gray and white, with pale red only under the tail.

Sound

Song is a series of chips followed by a trill; often repeated about 10 times. Call is a sharp, long "peent."

Conservation Status

Common in most of range. Human water use and land development have caused drastic declines in Vermilion Flycatcher populations in the lower Colorado River Valley. Habitat destruction poses threats to the species in various parts of its range.

Other Names

Moucherolle vermillon (French)
Mosquero cardenal (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The breeding male Vermilion Flycatcher spends about 90 percent of the day perched.
• Twelve subspecies of Vermilion Flycatcher are recognized, including a race with a dark morph that ranges from western Peru to northern Chile. Both male and female of this morph are dark all over, with some males having a few red feathers on the head, and some females having a pinkish wash under the tail. About half of the Vermilion Flycatchers in Lima, Peru are the dark morph, but the proportion decreases as one goes further southward.

• The male Vermilion Flycatcher often seeks to initiate copulation by delivering a butterfly or other showy insect to the female.

Sources used to construct this page:

Wolf. B. O., and S. L. Jones. 2000. Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). In The Birds of North America, No. 484 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.