- Myiarchus cinerascens
Identification
19–20·5 cm (7½-8 in)
- Streaky gray crown
- Pale gray throat and breast
- Pale yellow underparts
- Brownish-olive upperparts
- Pale wing bars and tertial edges
- Rufous primary panel (visible on closed wing)
- Greyish-white secondary panel, made up of the edges of those feathers (except in juveniles, where secondary edges are buffy or rusty-edged secondaries making the wing less two-colored)
- Brown tail looking mostly rusty from the underside but with a dark end
- Bill dark and slim
The sexes are similar
Distribution
Breeds from Washington and Wyoming south to southwestern United States, east to Texas.
Rare vagrant on Atlantic Coast in late fall (mostly November and December) with records in nearly all eastern states and provinces, when it is the only Myiarchus likely to occur.
Winters in southern California and Arizona southward to Costa Rica.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
This is a polytypic species[1], consists of two subspecies:
- M. c. cinerascens:
- breeds western United States and western Mexico; winters to northern Costa Rica
- M. c. pertinax:
- breeds Baja California Sur (south of latitude 29°)
Habitat
Rocky canyons to 5500 ft, hillsides, low mixed oak and pine forest, oak woodland, transitional chaparral and hedgerows.
Behaviour
Breeding
The clutch contains three to four eggs. The nest which is built in a tree cavity or similar natural or man-made hole.
Diet
The diet consists of arthropods and insects during the breeding season.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2018)
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
- Birdforum thread discussing id of this species
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Ash-throated Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ash-throated_Flycatcher