Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
4/25/20262 min
The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher nests in the open country of Texas, Oklahoma, and the south-central region. It's an elegant bird with a slender, deeply forked tail longer than its body. Agile in flight, it can spread and fold its tail, altering the surface area, like an extra pair of wings. When displaying to a female, the male dives again and again, opening and closing his tail. He may even perform a reverse somersault, flashing his pink sides and that long streamer of a tail.
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMichael Stein· Host0:00
This is BirdNote. [bird chirping] That's one of the country's most unforgettable birds, a scissor-tailed flycatcher. And right now, they're migrating north to nest in the open country of Texas, Oklahoma, and the South Central region. The scissor-tailed flycatcher goes beyond elegant. It's truly a fanciful bird, robin-sized, the palest of silver-grays, with a slender, deeply forked tail that's longer than its body. And when the scissor tail lifts its wings, it flashes vivid salmon pink flanks and underwings. Stunning. Most of the scissor tail's closest relatives have normal length tails. But with that extra length and the scissor-shaped structure comes incredible agility in flight. As the bird flies, it can spread and fold its tail, dramatically altering the surface area. It's almost like the scissor tail has an extra pair of wings as it twists in midair, chasing down an insect. When displaying to a female, the male scissor tail flies straight up and dives steeply down again and again, opening and closing its tail. And to top it off, he may even perform a reverse midair somersault, flashing his pink sides and that long streamer of a tail in the same instant. Breathtaking.