Ash-throated Flycatcher - Western Birds

An Ash-throated Flycatcher in Crystal Cove State Park, CA; 6/14/2011.

Four types of tyrant flycatchers look very similar, but only two of them (Ash-throated and Brown-crested) would be found in southern California. I saw a pair of Ash-throated Flycatchers hanging about the brushy habitat of Crystal Cove State Park. I knew it was an Ash-throated because its bill was smaller than a Brown-crested, and its habitat suited the Ash-throated. These flycatchers have a gray upper body with white wing bars and pale gray chest and pale yellow belly. One striking trait is its tannish primaries and tail.

Another look at an Ash-throated Flycatcher, Crystal Cove State Park, CA; 6/13/2011.

In the summer months, Ash-throated Flycatchers can be found throughout the West from southern Oregon, northern California, Nevada and Utah southward into Arizona New Mexico, western Texas and Mexico. In Winter it will migrate to the Texas coast of the Gulf of mexico and further south into Mexico and cenral America.  Year round they can be found in the Baja Peninsula and the western coast of Mexico.

An Ash-throated Flycatcher trying to hide in the foliage, Crystal Cove State Park; 6/14/2011.

Sunrise of the Day

 A beautiful sunrise coming up over the Chiricahua Mountains in the Chiricahua National Monument, AZ; 3/12/2007