Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Tyrannus forficatus

Least Concern · IUCN Red List

LCLeast ConcernInvertebratesUrbanCup nestSmall · 39 g

ID tip

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

When to see the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

One bar for each month. Filled bars are the 9 months with records; pale bars are months with none. The wide bar is April, the month with the most records.

Where to see the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Regular rangeRare visitor

The map shades 14 countries with regular records, and 2 more in a lighter tone where the bird turns up only as a stray. Everything unshaded has no records. Countries are listed below the map.

Recorded as a rare visitor in Dominican Republic, Colombia.

About the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

The scissor-tailed flycatcher, known as swallow-tailed flycatcher or scissorstail, is a long-tailed insectivorous bird of the genus Tyrannus, whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. It is found in North and Central America, and is Oklahoma's State Bird.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Easily confused with

Side by side: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher vs Tropical Kingbird · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher vs Western Kingbird · Cassin's Kingbird vs Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Boat-billed Flycatcher vs Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Grey Kingbird vs Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Fork-tailed Flycatcher vs Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

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