Crested Black Tyrant

The crested black tyrant is 20 to 21 cm (7.9 to 8.3 in) long. Unique in its genus, it has a long thin crest. The sexes have the same plumage; males are slightly larger than females. Adults are almost entirely glossy blue-black. Their remiges have white bases that are conspicuous in flight but usually not visible at rest. Both sexes have a dark red or reddish-brown iris, a black bill, and black legs and feet. The crested black tyrant and the phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens), a member of the silky-flycatcher family Ptiliogonatidae, are almost alike in appearance. Voice: As of April 2025 xeno-canto and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library each had nine recordings of crested black tyrant vocalizations; one of them was in both. The species is usually silent, but its flight song is a "very high téetwee-twee-twee (middle twee lowest pitched)".