Tyrant Flycatchers

How to recognize Tyrant Flycatchers

• Watch for an alert, often upright stance and short flights from a lookout perch.
• Compare eye-rings, wingbars and the length of the folded wing against the tail.
• Check the bill from the side and below; colour and proportions can separate similar groups.
• Listen for the complete call or song, particularly among small, similarly coloured flycatchers.

Where they live

Tyrant flycatchers are birds of the Americas, occupying habitats from tropical forest to open grassland and scrub. Eastern Kingbird often hunts from exposed perches in open landscapes, while Eastern Phoebe uses woodland edges and frequently places nests near structures. Great Kiskadee occurs in many open or partly wooded settings, often near water. Within the wider family, some birds remain inside dense vegetation rather than hunting over a field. Migration and local range are therefore essential checks after the first impression of an insect-catching bird.