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Silky-Flycatchers
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Description: Rather elegant slim upright profile. Mouse-brown
upperparts and pale, lightly streaked below.
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Sexes similar.
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Makes dashes after flying insects, often returning to
the same perch.
» Habitat: Woodland, parks and gardens.
» Size: 14 cm (5.5")
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The Silky-Flycatchers are a small family of delicate, long-tailed,
thrush-sized birds that inhabit woodlands from the southwestern United
States south to the mountains of western Panama. They are thus, essentially,
a Middle American family. Three of the four species are crested, including
the northernmost representative, Phainopepla. Their plumage ranges
from silky black to gray to yellow (depending on the species) but
always with a lovely sleek sheen to it. All the species fly-catch
for insects — mostly taken in the air — but some are also heavily
dependent on berries. Phainopepla, for example, is strongly associated
with mistletoe berries in the oak woodlands of central California.
Yet in southern California and Arizona it is a desert species in lightly-wooded
riparian washes. |
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| Bird rescue & bird adoption;
parrot refuge/rescue & placement for unwanted birds. |
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| Check out our list of local
birds broken down by your state and different types of
species. |
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| Migrating birds stay on track
because of chemical reactions in their bodies that are
influenced by the Earth's magnetic field... |
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Part
I
November
19, 2004