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Flycatcher Miami Florida (1 Viewer)

B

BirdingDoc

BirdingDoc
I photographed this flycatcher in the tropical hardwoods at Matheson Hammock County Park, South Miami, on 15 February. There was no hindcrown as would be seen with an Eastern Phoebe and the belly was more yellow than I expected for that species. There was no tail bobbing or other special motions, apart from flying away. I'm not good at flycatchers. Is it just an Eastern Phoebe on a bad hair day? Help, please??
 

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Eastern Phoebe to me, I've seen them with more yellow than shown in your pic and the hind crown is variable with posture
 
I agree,

This is clearly a Myiarchus flycatcher, and clearly not great or brown crested....

Did you hear it call?

Seán
 
Oops, should have looked more closely rather than IDing from the thumbnail. Can't help with separating Myiarchus, only ever seen Great Crested
 
Your bird has to be a La Sagra's or Ash-Throated, although I do not have field-experience with either species so cannot comment in any further detail. Either one would be (or would have been) a good bird for the area though.

Seán.
 
Definitely not a LaSagra's: the bill is to big, the underparts too yellow, and the underside of the tail appears rufous. But is it an Ash-throated as the pale yellow belly and ash throat suggest? What I can see of the underside of the tail looks rufous to the tips, more like a Brown-crested or Great Crested, and the large bill fits as well. Maybe the photo is quite overexposed, washing out the yellowness of the underparts. The bright white inner secondaries, tertial edges suggests Great Crested.

Andy
 
With the combination of heavy bill, muted yellow belly (allowing for the over-exposure) short pp and contrasting tertial edges, it has to be either Brown-crested or Great-crested. I think I'd opt for Great Crested as I assume it would be the default species..particularly as it overwinters.

cheers
 
The bird looks very pale beneath (which is why I was convinced at first it was either an ash-throated or la sagra's), but I'm beginning to think others are correct, with this being GC Fly alright.
 
I'm more comfortable labeling this a Brown-crested Flycatcher but given its range, it doesn't seem likely.
 
More photos of Flycatcher

I didn't think that this would be as tough as it appears to be.

I considered a Brown-crested Flycatcher, but having seen others in the south Florida area, it didn't look like it to me. I've never seen an Ash-throated.

The belly was not as deep a yellow as I saw in other Great-crested Flycatchers. I didn't hear its call.

I've included two more photos of the bird in question.

Thanks so much for your thoughts.
 

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To me, this bird does not have the jizz [or plumage] of a GCFL, even one very worn and faded.....but can't take it beyond that without checking some references.
 
La Sagra's for comparison

Here is a La Sagra's Flycatcher that I photographed in Bahamas a week earlier. The camera settings are similar as with my unknown flycatcher.
 

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Not a great or brown crested. The belly isn't yellow enough and the bird seems too lithe. It doesn't looked "capped" enough for la Sagra's. I vote ash-throated.
 
Hi All,

Not sure why, but these photos send out some real conflicting details which makes for a puzzling bird. Are there any additional photos that show the undertail pattern and the tertial pattern more clearly?

Problems with Great Crested - too pale ventrally, primary projection appears too short. [Edit: but I should add that the strong tertial contrast does suggest this species, as Andy mentioned. Also, the darkness of the face, olive-brown tones on the crown, and lack of much crest all suggest this species. Perhaps the lighting has blown out the coloration on the underparts in the photos (?). ]

Problems with Brown-crested - looks so grayish on the upperback, but fits for me structure-wise. Duller than most would be at this season. My guts leans this way based on the few images.

Problems with Ash-throated - looks too robust with thicker than typical bill. Tail pattern is like juvenile Ash-throated which should have been replaced by this date (thus not look like that of mystery bird). Rusty-edged secondaries are juvenile characteristic, should be mostly replaced by now.

Problems with La Sagra's - many: structure, coloration off.

Also, FWIW, the comparative shot of La Sagra's in Post #15 is a Loggerhead Kingbird. ;)

Here are some La Sagra's examples:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave_irving/5254355629/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richandrews/4153040521/

Chris
 
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Completely agree with Chris that the image in post 15 is a kingbird (and not a Myiarchus)

Niels
 
Last photo of unidentified Flycatcher

I appreciate all of your help with this one.

In response to your question Chris, this is the only other photo that I have of the bird before it decided to quit posing for me and seek a different perch.

To the best of my recollection, its belly was only lightly coloured, which is why I first thought it might a Phoebe. I had seen other Great Crested FC's while on outings with the local Audubon society, and they had a more appreciably yellow undersurface. I did not notice the somewhat rufous colour of this bird's undertail area until I examined the photos.

The most common Flycatcher in that part of South Miami is the Great Crested. However, I did see several Brown-crested Flycatchers in the South Dade area, but none in Matheson Hammock Park where I photographed this bird. I am not aware of any reports of Ash-throated Flycatchers in the area at that time, nor of La Sagra's. But birds do have wings.

And yes, I mislabelled the Kingbird photo and uploaded it by mistake. How embarrassing!

Charles
 

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