Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus)
- Chao "Jimmy" Wu
- Oct 2, 2015
- 2 min read
A denizen across much of South America and Mexico, the vermilion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) only reaches the United States in the American Southwest. It inhabits parts of the desert, woodlands, scrublands and riparian corridors across California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Some individuals also breed in Southern Nevada. While wintering, vermilion flycatchers may also wander into parts of the American Southeast.
Males are easily recognizable with their brilliant, scarlet-orange coloration. The upper back is generally an olive-brown. Females, with a dull, white-grey instead of vermilion, are less showy. Within the breeding season, males are often seen perched, waiting for females and for prey. Males also execute exceptional displays where they sing while flying above the ground. Like some bird species, vermilion flycatchers often capture prey while on the wing.
In the breeding season, both parents help feed the young, which fledge in about two weeks after hatching. In many places, Vermilion flycatchers are able to produce two broods every year. And, while the female begins to build a second nest, the male will continue to feed the young from the previous brood.
Like most flycatchers, this species feeds mostly on arthropods (some sources say the vermilion flycatcher feeds entirely on arthropods). Insects are often caught while flying or by hovering and capturing any close to lower brush. There was also an older paper describing a vermilion flycatcher feeding on fish (https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v108n02/p0377-p0378.pdf).
The vermilion flycatcher is currently separated into 12 different subspecies, which differ in plumage coloration and intensity. Proper description of some of the various subspecies, however, is not well defined.
This particular bird was first described in 1783 (via a Brazilian specimen) by Pieter Boddaert, a Dutch physician and naturalist. It was later given its current genus name by John Gould in 1839.
Because of its widespread range and sizeable total population, vermilion flycatchers are listed as least concern. However, according to the National Audubon Society, surveys in Texas suggest the species was declining there. Shifts in land usage, drainage of wet oases (cienega) in arid areas and prolonged drought in Southwestern breeding grounds may also reduce populations of this species. According to JP Hume and M Walters’ book, Extinct Birds, the San Cristóbal (in Galápagos archipelago) subspecies/species of vermilion flycatcher may already be extinct. Further expeditions in the late 20th Century failed to spot any individuals. Finally, cowbird parasitism may also be a species-decline factor.
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