Myiarchus sagrae
La Sagra's Flycatcher (Myiarchus sagrae) is a quintessential tyrant flycatcher of the Caribbean, measuring approximately 18-20 cm (7-8 inches) long and weighing 22-30g. Its distinctive appearance features brownish-gray upperparts, a slightly darker head often topped with a bushy crest, and a pale gray throat and breast contrasting with a pale yellow belly and undertail coverts. A key identification mark is the rufous edging on its primary feathers and the inner webs of its rectrices (tail fea...
Found in a variety of wooded habitats, including dry and wet forests, forest edges, mangroves, and even suburban gardens and parks, typically from sea level to moderate elevations.
Primarily insectivorous, feeding on beetles, wasps, flies, grasshoppers, and caterpillars caught in flight or gleaned from vegetation. It also consumes small fruits and berries, especially outside the breeding season.
La Sagra's Flycatcher is a diurnal and generally solitary bird, though pairs remain together during the breeding season. It primarily employs a 'perch-and-sally' foraging strategy, ambushing flying insects from an exposed perch, but also gleans prey from foliage and bark. Males actively defend th...
La Sagra's Flycatcher is primarily a resident species throughout the Greater Antilles. Its main distribution encompasses Cuba, the Isle of Pines (Isla de la Juventud), the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Four recognized subspecies occupy distinct portions of this ra...
Least Concern
- La Sagra's Flycatcher famously incorporates pieces of snake skin into its nest cavity, a behavior believed to deter predators. - It is one of only two Myiarchus species commonly found throughout the Bahamas, distinguishing it from other regional flycatchers. - The species is named in honor of R...