Ash-throated Flycatcher (The Flora and Fauna of Palo Duro Canyon)

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens

Summary ⁴

The ash-throated flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in desert scrub, riparian forest, brushy pastures and open woodland from the western United States to central Mexico. It is a short-distance migrant, retreating from most of the U.S. and northern and central Mexico, spending the winter from southern Mexico to Honduras. This bird is also prone to wander, with single birds often seen outside its normal breeding range as far away as the east coast of North America.

Description ⁵

The ash-throated flycatcher is a medium-sized tyrant flycatcher, measuring 7.5 to 8.6 in (19 to 22 cm) in length with a wingspan of 11.8 to 12.6 in (30 to 32 cm) and a mass of 0.7 to 1.3 oz (20 to 37 g). Overall, it is slim and long-tailed, with a slightly peaked crest on its relatively large head.

Conservation and threats ⁵

Because of its extensive range, very large population, and generally increasing numbers, the ash-throated flycatcher has been listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. It is one of the species protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In the United States, the creation of bluebird trails, a network of nest boxes put out for the continent's three bluebird species, may benefit ash-throated flycatchers as they will also use the boxes.

The ash-throated flycatcher is host to a number of parasites, including the nasal miteTyranninyssus callinectoides (for which it is the type host) and the quill mite Syringophilopsis tyranni.

Sources and Credits

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