Audubon México San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato

Bird Sightings


photograph by Wayne Colony

THE VERMILION FLYCATCHER
by
Walter L. Meagher

Caution he has thrown to the wind. Concealment is no part of his nature, as it is of hers. But then, among birds, the female accepts a modest wardrobe, not to be seen sitting on her eggs; the male is often better dressed, an advertisement for himself. What pleases anyone who sees the Vermilion Flycatcher is that he darts and perches in open scrubland, and is reliably seen tomorrow where he was seen today.
Most flycatchers share a way of hunting, called sally-gathering. A male perches on a twig, as far to the end as it can safely sit.

From his lookout he darts, fast as a flick of the tail. If his quarry is airborne, we witness the Vermilion’s maneuverability in flight, as at an air show.

If the insect or spider is on the ground, he goes to it as a pea from a slingshot. We shall never see what he has seen until he has seen it; and then, even then, before we can see the prey, beetle, ant, or orb-weaver, it is gone, and the bird returns to his perch.