Scissor-tailed flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus (fomerly, Milvulus forficatus; protonym, Muscivora forficata), also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise and the swallow-tailed flycatcher, photographed at Manhattan, Kansas.
Image: Dave Rintoul, 16 June 2011 (with permission) [velociraptorize].
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Question: This lovely North American mystery bird is very distinctive -- if you've ever seen one, you'll never forget it. There's a fair number of people who've never seen it but still can readily recognise it. Can you name this species and tell me something that you think is interesting about it?
Response: This is an adult scissor-tailed flycatcher, Tyrannus forficatus, a member of the genus Tyrannus, so named for their pugnacious nature when defending their territories against marauding crows and other, even larger, predators.
The extremely long, forked tail is nearly always a dead give-away that this species is insectivorous and captures its flying prey whilst both are on the wing. This feeding style is known as "hawking". As several of you mentioned in your reader comments, this striking species is the official state bird for Oklahoma.
Here's another picture of what this bird looks like:
Image: Dave Rintoul, 16 June 2011 (with permission) [velociraptorize].
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
You are invited to review all of the daily mystery birds by going to their dedicated graphic index page.
If you have bird images, video or mp3 files that you'd like to share with a large and (mostly) appreciative international audience here at The Guardian, feel free to contact me to learn more.
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