Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Taxobox
name = Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_width = 200px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Tyrranidae
genus = "Tyrannus"
species = "T. forficatus"
binomial = "Tyrannus forficatus"
binomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1789)The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher ("Tyrannus forficatus") is a long-tailed insect-eating bird closely related to the kingbirds.

Adult birds have gray upper parts and light underparts with pinkish flanks. They have dark wings and extremely long, forked black tails. Immature birds are duller in color and have shorter tails.

Their breeding habitat is open shrubby country with scattered trees in the south-central United States and northeastern Mexico. They build a cup nest in a tree or shrub on a branch, sometimes using artificial sites such as telephone poles. The male performs a spectacular aerial display during courtship with his long tail forks streaming out behind him. Both parents feed the young. Like other kingbirds, they are very aggressive in defending their nest.

They migrate to southern Mexico and Central America and in small numbers to south Florida. They regularly stray to the ocean coasts of the US and are occasional visitors to southern Canada.

These birds feed mainly on insects, which they catch by waiting on a perch and then flying out to catch them in flight (hawking). They also eat some berries.

This is the state bird of Oklahoma.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links

* [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/okscisso/index.htm Oklahoma's tropical ambassador -- The scissor-tailed flycatcher]
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4430id.html Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter species account] including Breeding Bird Survey and Christmas Bird Count range maps.
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Scissor-tailed_Flycatcher.html Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/scissor_tailed_flycatcher_info.htm Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Information] - South Dakota Birds and Birding
* [http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/11640200.htm Stamps] for El Salvador, Nicaragua, United States
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=scissor-tailed+flycatcher&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher photo gallery] VIREO
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=5152 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/State%20bird.htm Birds of Oklahoma ] Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
* [http://www.birdsofoklahoma.net/Scistailgaly.htm Scissor-tail image Gallery ]