Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Tyrannus forficatus
The scissor-like tail isn't just for show; it acts as a high-performance rudder, allowing for extreme maneuverability and sudden mid-air stalls.
- Scientific name
- Tyrannus forficatus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Tyrannidae › Tyrannus
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, savannas, and agricultural fields with scattered trees, shrubs, or utility lines for perching.
- Diet
- Primarily insectivorous, specializing in grasshoppers, beetles, bees, and wasps caught during mid-air sorties.
- Range
- Southern Great Plains (USA), Mexico, Central America
- Size
- 11.5 to 15 inches in length, with the tail often making up more than half of the bird's total length.
- Lifespan
- 10 to 15 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Pesticide use reducing insect prey availability and the removal of nesting trees in open landscapes.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless and a delight to watch. These birds are territorial during nesting; if they dive-bomb, you are too close to their young. Maintain a 20-foot distance. They pose no medical risk to humans.
The scissor-tailed flycatcher ( Tyrannus forficatus ), also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise and swallow-tailed flycatcher , is a long-tailed bird of the genus Tyrannus , whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbirds are a group of large insectivorous (insect-eating) birds in the tyrant flycatcher (Tyrannidae) family. The scissor-tailed flycatcher is found in North and Central America.
Photo: Brooke J., CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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