Pyrocephalus rubinus
vermilion flycatcher

The Vermillion Flycatcher's range extends from the southwestern United States down through Mexico, Central America, and as far south as Argentina (Wolf and Jones 2000).

The Vermillion flycatcher prefers open habitats such as arid scrubland, farmland, desert, savannah, cultivated lands, and riparian woodland settings. Specifically, their nests can be found in willows (Salix spp.), oaks (Quercus spp.), cottonwoods (Populus spp.), mesquites (Prosopis spp.), and sycamores (Platanus spp.) lining streams. However they are not found in areas with a dense canopy of Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and mesquite understory (Carothers 1974).

Vermillion flycatcher adult males are a bright scarlet or "vermilllion" color on the top of their head and on underparts. They have a dark-brown mask that covers the face, ear-coverts, and nape of neck. The top of the wings and the tail are also blackish-brown.

Adult females are grayish-brown on the top of their head, ear-coverts, and wings and tail. They are darkest at the tail and they have a superciliary grayish-white stripe on their face. Their underparts are whitish but become pale red. Their breast is streaked with gray, as well as their sides (Wolf and Jones 2000).

Immature females are similar to the adult female except that they have yellowish posterior underparts. Immature males look similiar to adult females during the summer of the second calendar year, but their underparts are salmon pink or pale-orange red in color (Wolf and Jones 2000).

These birds are monogamous. The nest site is chosen based on the Nest-Site-Showing Display of the male. He flies around to potential nesting sites and gives a soliciting call to the nearby females, encouraging them to take a look. They fly to each site, crouch, and make nest forming movementd while letting out a chatter call. They also flutter their wings during this display. The chosen nest site by the female is usually within 205 m of the male's preferred nest site. The female will often ignore the displaying male, but when she decides to accept, she and the male will land at different potential nest sites in a crouching position. They will display side by side. The male will retreat when he observes that the female is starting the nest construction. The construction begins almost immediately after the female chooses the site (Carothers 1974).

Vermillion flycatchers first breed as second year birds, the first spring after hatching. Males usually arrive to the breeding grounds a week or so earlier than females. They may arrive as early as February, and as late as the first week of April. The earliest nest observed was constructed in late March. The nests are loosely constructed and made of twigs, grasses, fibers, and empty cocoons, and lined with down, feathers, and hair. Nest shape is a shallow cup. The female completes the nest with cobwebs and lichens. Egg-laying occurs as soon as the nest has been finished. The clutch is usually made of 2-3 oval-shaped eggs. They range in color from pure white to cream, tan, or brown. The larger end of the egg is usually marked with a dark brown spot. The incubation period in Arizona is 13-15 days. The eggs are incubated by the female alone, all eggs hatch within 24 hours. The young are altricial and weigh a little over 1 gram. The female broods the young and they fledge approximately 13-15 days after hatching. Second broods are common. Second clutches have been observed from 20 May to 10 June (Carothers 1974).

Immediately after the eggs are laid, the female begins incubation. All eggs hatch by the 14th day in most cases, but the average length of time is 13-15 days. While the female incubates the eggs the male feeds her. He lands on a nearby branch and announces himself with a contact call. He quickly deposits the food in the female's mouth and promptly leaves. During this period, copulations often occur on the nest. Females have never been observed begging for food. The male feeds the female on average, every 1.5 hours. Following feeding, copulation is likely to occur. Females are extremely vigilant when they are at the nest. They are most alert in the early morning when the eggs are exposed to full sunlight. The female will often stand over the eggs so the sunlight cannot reach them. The female occasionally leaves the nest, but never goes very far. Young are altricial, weighting a little over a gram. Their eyes start to open about 4 days after hatching. There seems to be no correlation between the feeding rate and the number of young in the nest. Both parents feed the young, aproximately 3.5 times per hour. They are fed mostly butterflies and moths. About half of their food is made of larval lepidoptera (Carothers 1974).

The oldest vermillion flycatcher that was banded and subsequently recovered was at least five and half years old. (USGS, 2002)

Vermillion flycatchers spend little time on the ground. They are diurnal and are known like other flycatchers for their characteristic sallying from a perch to capture prey in mid-flight. No information is available on sleeping, roosting, or sunbathing. Both the male and female preen frequently during the day, and they are observed to wipe their bills on branches to clean them off after feeding (Wolf and Blair 2000).

Vermillion flycatchers mainly consume flying and terrestrial insects and other arthropods. They prefer grasshoppers, honeybees, beetles, and crickets. They forage during flight, performing sallies. Ninety-four percent of foraging takes place within 3 m of the ground, with the least amount of foraging occuring over water. They are a sit-and-wait predator. They sit on perches and sally down to catch single insects one at a time. Sometimes they carry captured prey to their perch and beat it before consuming it (Fitzpatrick 1980).

They are probably subject to predation from typical predators of small birds. Snakes, raccoons, owls, and crows may take eggs and nestlings while hawks may take recently fledged birds.

These birds probably have an impact on insect populations (Wolf and Blair 2000).

This bird arrives in the Southwest every spring and is a sight to see for birdwatchers (Blair and Wolf 2000).

There are no known adverse effects on humans

This bird is losing habitat due to urbanization. The preservation of both dry and wet riparian areas should be a priority for the long term maintenance of populations of this bird. The opening of habitat due to habitat modifications by humans provides this bird with foraging habitat. However, due to the loss of many riparian areas, these birds have few areas in which to reproduce. Urbanization and man-made chemicals such as pesticides used in urban areas can poison their food supply (Wolf and Blair 2000).

During the breeding season, both males and females exhibit aggresive behavior towards other birds who approach the nest. They have been observed to chase off Lucy's Warbler (Vermivora luciae), Violet-green swallows (Tachycineta thalassina), Audubon's Warbler (Dendroica auduboni), and Western Kingbirds (Tyrannus verticalis; Wolf and Blair 2000).