Myiarchus Explained

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 (6.3–9 in) long. They are all partially crested with a brown to gray back and head, a rufous to blackish tail and yellow to pale underparts (only exception is the rufous flycatcher with rufous 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.^[1] The name combines the Ancient Greek muia meaning "fly" with arkhos meaning "ruler" or "chief".^[2] Cabanis did not specify a type species for the genus but this was designated as the short-crested flycatcher by George Gray in 1855.^{[3] [4]}

The genus contains 22 species:

• Rufous flycatcher, Myiarchus semirufus
• Yucatan flycatcher, Myiarchus yucatanensis
• Sad flycatcher, Myiarchus barbirostris
• Dusky-capped flycatcher, Myiarchus tuberculifer
• Swainson's flycatcher, Myiarchus swainsoni
• Venezuelan flycatcher, Myiarchus venezuelensis
• Panama flycatcher, Myiarchus panamensis
• Short-crested flycatcher, Myiarchus ferox
• Pale-edged flycatcher, Myiarchus cephalotes
• Sooty-crowned flycatcher, Myiarchus phaeocephalus
• Apical flycatcher, Myiarchus apicalis
• Ash-throated flycatcher, Myiarchus cinerascens
• Nutting's flycatcher, Myiarchus nuttingi
• Great crested flycatcher, Myiarchus crinitus
• Brown-crested flycatcher, Myiarchus tyrannulus
• Grenada flycatcher, Myiarchus nugator
• Galapagos flycatcher, Myiarchus magnirostris
• Rufous-tailed flycatcher, Myiarchus validus
• La Sagra's flycatcher, Myiarchus sagrae
• Stolid flycatcher, Myiarchus stolidus
• Lesser Antillean flycatcher, Myiarchus oberi
• Puerto Rican flycatcher, Myiarchus antillarum

Notes and References

1. Cabanis . Jean . Jean Cabanis . 1844 . Avium conspectus quae in Republica Pernana reperiuntur et pleraeqne observatae vel collectae sunt in itinere . Latin . Archiv für Naturgeschichte . 10 . 1 . 262–317 [272].
2. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 263 .
3. Book: Gray, George Robert . George Robert Gray . 1855 . Catalogue of the Genera and Subgenera of Birds Contained in the British Museum . London . British Museum . 49 .
4. Book: Traylor . Melvin A. Jr . Melvin Alvah Traylor Jr. . 1979 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 8 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 194 .