Swainson’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus swainsoni)

Identification & Behavior: ~19 cm (7.4 in). The Swainson’s Flycatcher has a gray mantle and wing coverts edged with white. It has no rufous webbing on the wing and tail feathers. The crown is gray with a crest. It has a poorly defined mask through the eye. The lower mandible is dull yellow or brown. The throat and breast are gray and grade to dull yellow towards the rest of the underparts. It forages in the canopy of the forest in Amazonia. It is similar to the Short-crested Flycatcher but is distinguished by an overall less saturated plumage, bicolored bill, and habitat selection.

Status: The Swainson’s Flycatcher occurs in Peru as an uncommon Austral migrant expected in the region during the months of March through November. It also occurs as a resident in the semi-deciduous forest and scrub of the middle Urubamba Valley. The Swainson’s Flycatcher also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Copetón de Swainson.

Sub-species: Swainson’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus swainsoni pelzelni), Berlepsch, 1883.  S & E perimeter of Amazon Basin S to SE Peru, N Bolivia and SC Brazil (S to Mato Grosso, S Goiás and Minas Gerais).
(Myiarchus swainsoni ferocior), Cabanis, 1883.  breeds SE Bolivia, W Paraguay and Argentina (S to La Pampa and Buenos Aires); migrates to Amazon Basin as far N as S Colombia.

Meaning of Name: Myiarchus: Gr. muia, muias= fly and arkhos, arkho= ruler, chief. swainsoni: In honor of William Swainson (1789-1855) English naturalist, artist, collector.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae