Vermilion Flycatcher: how to recognise it
A bird of North America and South America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © davy · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Pyrocephalus rubinus
- Family
- Tyrant Flycatchers
- Size
- About 14 cm
- Habitat
- Open scrub, farmland and riverside trees
- Found in
- North America and South America
The key marks
Male is brilliant red on the crown and underparts with a dark mask and dark brown back; females are grey-brown with a streaked breast and a pink or orange belly. Say's Phoebe has a plain rusty belly, a grey-brown head and no red or streaks.
Voice
A tinkling, twittering song, often written as 'pit-pit-pit-a-zeeee'.
Good to know
In display the male flutters up into the air, puffs out his red feathers and sings, often carrying an insect to offer the female.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Say's Phoebe. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in open scrub, farmland and riverside trees. It is especially common in Peru, Mexico, Arizona and Colombia. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.