Texas bird-of-paradise, Swallow-tailed flycatcher
The Scissor-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) is a long-tailed bird of the genus Tyrannus, whose members are collectively referred to as kingbirds. The kingbirds are a group of large insect-eating birds which prefer to live in semi-open or open areas where they wait on an exposed perch and then catch insects in flight.
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.
Scissor-tailed flycatchers are found in the south-central states of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas; western portions of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri; far eastern New Mexico; and northeastern Mexico. They may occasionally be found as far north as southern Canada and as far east as Florida and Georgia. These birds migrate through Texas and eastern Mexico to their winter non-breeding range, from southern Mexico to Panama. Scissor-tailed flycatchers inhabit open shrubby country with scattered trees, savannahs, and grasslands, edges of tropical moist and tropical dry forests. They are also common in towns, farm fields, pastures, parks, and roadsides.
Scissor-tailed flycatchers are active during the day. They usually catch insects by waiting on a perch and then flying out to catch them in flight (hawking). They will also glean insects from the vegetation or from the ground. Scissor-tailed flycatchers are gregarious birds, however, during the breeding season, they often forage singly or in pairs. After the breeding season, Scissor-tailed flycatchers gather in large roosts which usually contain hundreds of birds. During the breeding season, males also leave their nest tree in the evening to join communal roosts and return to the nest in the morning. Scissor-tailed flycatchers communicate with the help of chattering and twittering sounds and also produce a harsh 'kee-kee-kee-kee' call.
Scissor-tailed flycatchers are insectivores. In the summer, they feed mainly on insects such as grasshoppers, robber-flies, and dragonflies. In the winter they will also eat some berries.
Scissor-tailed flycatchers are serially monogamous and form pairs only for one breeding season. The breeding season occurs from April to August. During this time males perform a spectacular aerial courtship display with their long tail forks streaming out behind them. Scissor-tailed flycatchers build a cup nest in isolated trees or shrubs, sometimes using artificial sites such as telephone poles near towns. The nest is made with twigs, stems, paper, bark, and feathers. Like other kingbirds, Scissor-tailed flycatchers are very aggressive in defending their nest. The female lays 3 to 6 eggs and incubates them within 13-16 days. Altricial chicks are hatched helpless, with reddish bodies and closed eyes. Both parents feed the young until they fledge and are ready to leave the nest; this occurs 14-17 days after hatching. Scissor-tailed flycatchers become reproductively mature and are ready to breed for the first time when they are 1 year old.
Populations of Scissor-tailed flycatchers suffer from severe weather such as strong winds or tornadoes which destroy many nests during the breeding season.
According to the What Bird resource, the total Scissor-tailed flycatcher population size is around 7,900,000 individuals. According to the All About Birds resource, the total breeding population size of the species is 9.5 million individuals. Overall, currently, Scissor-tailed flycatchers are classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List but their numbers today are decreasing.
