Bird Guide

Brown-crested Flycatcher vs Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus)

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Small35 gWoodland

The brown-crested flycatcher is 18 to 23 cm (7.1 to 9.1 in) long, with a general trend of larger to smaller from north to south. Subspecies M. t. magister is the largest taxon within the entire genus Myiarchus, weighing 36 to 54 g (1.3 to 1.9 oz). The other subspecies weigh 21 to 45 g (0.74 to 1.6 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the subspecies M. t. magister and M. t. cooperi have a grayish brown crown whose feathers have darker shafts and form a bushy crest. Their upperparts are mostly light brownish gray to dark olive gray with often a rufous tinge on the uppertail coverts. Voice: The brown-crested flycatcher's dawn song varies somewhat among the subspecies but overall is "alternated renditions of isolated huits and complex phrases that are typically derived from combination of a whay-burg note with brief series of rapid huits".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Rosa Elena Albornoz · CC0
Photo: Fernando Sessegolo · CC0
Dusky-capped Flycatcher (Myiarchus tuberculifer)

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Myiarchus tuberculifer

Small18 gForest

The dusky-capped flycatcher is 16 to 18.5 cm (6.3 to 7.3 in) long and weighs 14 to 27 g (0.49 to 0.95 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies M. t. tuberculifer have a sooty brown crown and face; the crown feathers form a slight crest. Their upperparts are mostly dark greenish olive-brown with browner uppertail coverts. Their wings are mostly dusky with thin dull white edges on the secondaries and thin buffy-white edges on the inner primaries. Their greater and median wing coverts have buffy brown edges. Their tail is dark grayish brown. Voice: The dusky-capped flycatcher's vocalizations vary across its range. In Mexico its dawn song "consists of a long series of "sentences" made up of 2 or 3 elements". In much of Central America it is "a short, sharply whistled whit, a long drawn, plaintive, whistled wheeeu, and an emphatic whistle cut short". In much of South America it is "plaintive whistles alternated with huit notes".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: JUAN ANTONIO ALONSO DE JUAN · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Brown-crested Flycatcher and Dusky-capped Flycatcher.