I estimate it to be about 4.5 to 5 inches long at most. Seems very "camera-shy." I believe it has a lovely, mellifluous song with many high-pitched tones in a rather rapid succession. Had to use the 12x optical zoom on my Cyber-shot camera, thus the graininess. Photos taken this evening, 15 May, in my suburban North Texas backyard.
Thanks for any help!
-Nick
Nick, it looks like a Great Crested Flycatcher.
Would it be a juvenile since it's so small right now? I'd compare its length to a Carolina Wren's... pretty small bird. I know my photos aren't the best; hope I can get some better ones!
Hah! Now we'll have to wait for someone with more knowledge on these birds to help us out. By my experience what I've seen; those birds are about the Eastern Phoebes in size as well as behaviors. They're more colorful with the yellow color where Phoebes don't have.
It's one of the Empidonax flycatchers. No way of telling which, without recordings of the call and/or song. Listen to each of these online, and see which best matches the song you heard:
Acadian Flycatcher
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Good source for recordings: http://www.xeno-canto.org/browse.php?query=Empidonax&species_nr=
Resin
Thank you very much, Resin! I'll listen to those recordings for a recognisable vocalisation.
Thank you for your input too, Lily_love!
I'm always very appreciative for help learning to recognise our feathered friends!
Cheers,
Nick
To my ears, the Yellow-bellied sounds the closest. So, I'm going to mark this "closed."
Thanks again!
Nick
