Myiarchus


Myiarchus is a genus of birds in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. Most species are fairly similar in appearance and are easier to separate by voice than by plumage.
Myiarchus flycatchers are fairly large tyrant-flycatchers at 16–23 cm long. They are all partially crested with a brown to gray back and head, a rufous to blackish tail and yellow to pale underparts. They typically forage by perching on an open branch and looking outward and downward for prey, which primarily consists of insects. Once it spots a potential meal, the flycatcher rapidly and directly flies at the insect, which is normally on the exposed upper surface of a leaf or twig. It hovers briefly before the insect before grabbing it in its beak and flying away to typically a new perch.

Taxonomy

The genus Myiarchus was introduced in 1844 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis. The name combines the Ancient Greek muia meaning "fly" with arkhos meaning "ruler" or "chief". Cabanis did not specify a type species for the genus but this was designated as the short-crested flycatcher by George Gray in 1855.
The genus contains 22 species:
ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
 Myiarchus semirufusRufous flycatchernorthwestern Peru
Myiarchus yucatanensisYucatan flycatcherYucatan peninsula
 Myiarchus barbirostrisSad flycatcherJamaica
 Myiarchus tuberculiferDusky-capped flycatcherNeotropics
Myiarchus swainsoniSwainson's flycatcherSouth America
 Myiarchus venezuelensisVenezuelan flycatchernorthern Venezuela and Colombia
 Myiarchus panamensisPanama flycatcherPanama and Colombia
Myiarchus feroxShort-crested flycatcherSouth America
 Myiarchus apicalApical flycatcherColombia
 Myiarchus cephalotesPale-edged flycatchernorthern Andes
Myiarchus phaecocephalusSooty-crowned flycatcherwestern Ecuador and northern Peru
 Myiarchus cinerascensAsh-throated flycatchersouthwestern US and Mexico
 Myiarchus nuttingiNutting's flycatcherMesoamerica
 Myiarchus crinnitusGreat crested flycatchereastern North America ;
winters to Central America
 Myiarchus tyranulusBrown-crested flycatcherNeotropics
Myiarchus magnirostrisGalapagos flycatcherGalápagos Islands
 Myiarchus nugatorGrenada flycatcherGrenada and St Vincent
 Myiarchus validusRufous-tailed flycatcherJamaica
 Myiarchus sagraeLa Sagra's flycatchernorthern Antilles
 Myiarchus stolidusStolid flycatcherJamaica and Hispaniola
 Myiarchus antillarumPuerto Rican flycatcherPuerto Rico
Myiarchus oberiLesser Antillean flycatcherLesser Antilles