Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

Nobody said catching bugs has to be so gorgeous

Photo by Keith McCullough

Annie Dillard once wrote, “beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.” It’s a sentiment I have come to live by, to help me open my eyes to the daily miracles around me. For me, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers embody this reality with their unnecessary beauty and grace. Nobody said catching bugs has to be so gorgeous.

Here in Central Texas, they’re easy to mistake for a mockingbird – pale gray head and body with darker gray wings and tail – that is, if they’re perched high on power lines or atop fence posts, perusing open fields for insects or other birds who would interfere with their territories. Once they take flight though, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are unmistakable with their long, deeply forked tails that allow for their showy acrobatics overhead as they hunt insects. They are remarkably elegant, especially if you can catch a glimpse of the splash of salmon contrasted against an almost-glowing white underbelly.

Most tails are known to be specialized for aerodynamic reasons – helping to maximize either speed or efficiency while in flight, whichever is most necessary. While this holds true in part for the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, it is not the whole story. Surprisingly, they use their tail as a broom – hovering slowly, low over tall prairie grasses to sweep up insects to eat. This added benefit makes sense when you consider the difficulty of catching insects mid-flight, full time.

Imagine moving at twenty miles per hour, tracking down a fly, and then plucking it out of thin air with a pair of tweezers. David Sibley says the flycatcher’s incredible visual acuity and processing ability is largely responsible for their success in hunting insects mid-flight. In fact, their eyes are as specialized as their tails, if not more so. They are not only able to see ultraviolet light, but are also able to see colors at higher contrast than we do. Scientists have recently discovered a type of cone cell that is completely unique to the eyes of flycatchers, which may be the reason they can hunt with such accuracy. In many respects, I admire how they have wholeheartedly evolved with such singularity of purpose – the pursuit of insects.

Hunting is not all they commit themselves to though. Males perform spectacular dances attempting to woo females, ascending and descending sharply while they gracefully open and close their trademarked scissor-tails. If she approves of him, she will lay a handful of eggs a day or two later in a cup-shaped nest she has carefully woven and lined with plant down or soft hairs, typically in the fork of a tall tree or power line. For two weeks, she will keep the eggs sheltered and warm. Then, for another two weeks both she and her mate will feed their fresh hatchlings until they’re ready for life on their own. About a month after his flamboyant acrobatic display, the kids are out of the house and they are on their own once again. Driven by necessity and apparently grace, their catching breakfast is a roadside marvel for us to witness.

References: Audubon Guide to North American Birds, What It’s Like to Be a Bird by David Allen Sibley