The vermilion flycatcher is a small, strikingly colored bird found in parts of North and South America. The male vermilion flycatcher is unmistakable with its bright red plumage, but the female looks quite different. Her more subdued plumage allows her to camouflage on the nest while incubating eggs. This article will provide a detailed description of the female vermilion flycatcher’s appearance, including her size, colors, markings, bill shape, and other identifying features. Read on to learn all about this beautiful bird.
Overall Size and Shape
The female vermilion flycatcher is a small, slender songbird, measuring around 5-6 inches in length (13-15 cm) with a wingspan of about 10 inches (25 cm). Her body and tail are elongated. She has a short black bill with a slight downward curve perfect for catching insects in midair. Her head is rounded and her legs and feet are black.
Overall, her proportions are typical of an aerial insectivore. Her light weight and aerodynamic shape allow her to maneuver acrobatically in flight to snatch prey. She is slightly smaller and has a more delicate build than the male.
Plumage Colors and Markings
While the male vermilion flycatcher sports bright reddish-orange plumage, the female is much more muted in color. Her main body plumage consists of grayish-brown upperparts and pale gray underparts. This drab coloration provides good camouflage as she incubates eggs in the nest.
Here is a more detailed look at her plumage colors and markings:
Head
– Crown: Grayish-brown
– Nape: Grayish-brown
– Face: Grayish-brown with a pale eye-ring
– Chin and throat: Pale gray
Upperparts
– Back: Grayish-brown
– Rump: Grayish-brown
– Wings: Grayish-brown with two pale buff wingbars
– Tail: Grayish-brown with outer tail feathers tipped white
Underparts
– Chest and belly: Pale gray
– Flanks: Pale gray with some brown spotting
– Undertail coverts: Pale buff
So in summary, the female’s plumage consists of mostly grayish-brown upperparts and pale gray underparts. The only real marking is the pale buff eye-ring, wingbars, and undertail coverts that provide some contrast.
Bill Shape
The bill shape of the female vermilion flycatcher is exactly the same as the male’s. She has a short, wide, flattened bill that is black on the upper mandible and pale horn color on the lower mandible.
From the side profile, the upper and lower mandibles have a slight downward curve. This bill shape is perfect for aerial foraging, as it has a wide gape to scoop up insects mid-flight. The black color also helps reduce glare while spotting prey against the sky.
So in summary, the female has the same short, wide, hooked, and black-and-pale colored bill specialized for catching insects on the wing.
Juvenile Plumage
The juvenile female vermilion flycatcher looks different than the adult female. Here is a description of a juvenile female’s plumage:
Overall Coloration
– Grayish-brown upperparts
– Pale buff underparts with grayish wash across chest
– Buff scalloping or spotting on back
Head
– Crown grayish-brown
– Buff supercillium (eyebrow stripe)
– Dark eye stripe
– Face buff with some brown spotting
– Pale eye ring
– Chin whitish
Wings
– Buff wingbars
Tail
– Grayish-brown central tail feathers
– White outer tail feathers
So in summary, the juvenile female is overall more buff-colored than the adult, with less crisp plumage patterns. As she matures, her plumage will become grayer in color and the buff scalloping and spotting will disappear.
Differences From the Male
While the male and female vermilion flycatcher belong to the same species, they look strikingly different. Here is a summary of the key differences between the appearance of the adult male and female:
Male
– Bright red crown, nape, back, rump, and upper breast
– Black wings and tail
– Red underparts
– Black bill
Female
– Grayish-brown upperparts
– Pale gray underparts
– Grayish-brown wings with two pale buff wingbars
– Grayish-brown tail with white tips on outer tail feathers
– Black bill with pale lower mandible
So in summary, the male has vivid reddish-orange plumage on most of his body while the female has subdued grayish-brown and pale gray plumage. This sexual dimorphism likely helps camouflage the female on the nest.
Similar Species
The female vermilion flycatcher overlaps in range with several similar tyrant flycatcher species. Here is a comparison with two commonly confused species:
Compared to Female Ash-throated Flycatcher:
– Vermilion: Smaller with more slender bill, pale eye ring, light wingbars
– Ash-throated: Larger with heavier bill, no eye ring, wings lack contrasting pattern
Compared to Female Brown-crested Flycatcher:
– Vermilion: Larger with longer tail, brown back, white outer tail feathers
– Brown-crested: Smaller with shorter tail, gray back, brown tail
So in summary, the female vermilion can be distinguished from similar species by size, bill shape, subtle plumage differences, and range. Proper identification usually requires noticing several characteristics together.
Geographic Variation
The female vermilion flycatcher’s appearance remains quite consistent across most of its range in the Americas. However, there are a few minor differences between northern and southern subspecies:
Northern vermilion flycatchers
– Found in southwestern U.S. and Mexico
– Have paler upperparts coloring with more gray
– Less brown spotting on flanks
Southern vermilion flycatchers
– Found from Costa Rica to Argentina
– Have darker upperparts with more brown
– Usually more spotting on flanks
Despite these subtle differences, the female vermilion flycatcher remains remarkably similar in appearance across its widespread New World range. No subspecies are distinguishable enough to be considered separate species.
Conclusion
In summary, the adult female vermilion flycatcher is a small, slender songbird with drab grayish-brown upperparts, pale gray underparts, two pale buff wingbars, and a black and pale bill. She can be identified by her size and shape, subtle plumage patterns, bill shape, range, and aerial foraging behavior. She is much duller in coloration than the bright red male. Her muted plumage provides great camouflage as she incubates eggs and cares for young at the nest. The vermilion flycatcher stands out as one of the most vividly sexually dimorphic passerine birds in the Americas.
