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Puzzling flycatcher in Mexico (1 Viewer)

HelenB

Opus Editor and Expat from Cumbria
Opus Editor
While on our cruise a couple of weeks ago, we stopped in Acapulco on the Pacific coast of Mexico. I photographed this bird so as to check my field guides later. The closest ID I can get is Social Flycatcher, but the head markings are not quite right, as this one only has a little bit of dark grey on the top of his head. It's wings and tail were more brown than the olive mentioned in the field guide. Perhaps its a juvenile. It's colouring was so similar to the Great Kiskadee that I thought 'flycatcher' family, but it was smaller - about 6 - 7 inches. We found it in a small park on the seafront near the cruise ship terminal in Acapulco, about 9:30 am.

I'm including 2 images, so that you can see the top of the head, too.
Thanks in advance to anyone with experience of Mexican birds. This trip was our first time in Mexico.
 

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Hi Helen

I think that White-bearded Flycatcher (Myiozetetes inornatus) could be a possibility, though I am not sure if it is found in Mexico.

Graham
 
Helen

Looks like Social Flycatcher to me - I saw this bird a lot in Belize. The birds I photographed had a wider white eyebrow stripe than in the Peterson Mexican Birds book.

Andrew
 
Helen,
I'd say this has to be Social Flycatcher. While there are three in Mexico (and all also in Acapulco) that have this same color pattern, the other two are considerably larger (9" vs 7") and both have much larger bills. The Boat-billed has an extremely heavy bill and the Great Kiskadee has a fairly stout bill. The small bill on your bird is just like a Social. The Great Kiskadee also has a lot of Rufous in its wings which your bird doesn't.

I wouldn't be too worried about the thickness of the white supercilium (this is what made the crown patch appear too small). I'm sure there is a bit of variance here between birds.

I saw all three of these birds yesterday by the way.

Graham's suggestion of White-bearded Flycatcher matches the color scheme very well but is not in Mexico. Also the bill appears much small on the White-bearded.
 
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Graham, Andrew and Dave,

Thanks for the input - with the seedeater ID in my other post, that's 2 more lifers I can tick off on my trip list.
 
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