Bird Guide

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher vs Tropical Kingbird

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus)

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Small39 gUrban

Adult birds have pale gray heads and upper parts, light underparts, salmon-pink flanks and undertail coverts, and dark gray wings. Axillars and patch on underwing coverts are red. Their extremely long, forked tails, which are black on top and white on the underside, are characteristic and unmistakable. At maturity, the male may be up to 15 in (38 cm) in length, while the female's tail is up to 30% shorter. The wingspan is 38.1 cm (15.0 in) and the weight is up to 43 g (1.5 oz). Immature birds are duller in color and have shorter tails.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Kramer, Gary · Public domain
Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Small37 gUrban

An adult tropical kingbird is 22 cm (8.7 in) long, weighs 39 g (1.4 oz) and has a wingspan range of 38–41 cm. The head is pale gray, with a darker eye mask, an orange crown stripe, and a heavy gray bill. The back is grayish-green, and the wing and forked tail are brown. The throat is pale gray, becoming olive on the breast, with the rest of the underparts being yellow. The sexes are similar, but young birds have pale buff edges on the wing coverts.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Niels Krabbe · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Hobbyfotowiki · CC0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Tropical Kingbird.