page_title: Vermilion flycatcher
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Vermilion flycatcher / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Vermilion Flycatcher at Bosque Protector Jerusalem, Ecuador
context_page_description: The vermilion flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family found throughout South America and southern North America. It is a striking exception among the generally drab Tyrannidae due to its vermilion-red coloration. The males have bright red crown, chests, and underparts, with brownish wings and tails. Females lack the vivid red coloration and can be hard to identify—they may be confused for the Say's phoebe. The vermilion flycatcher's song is a pit pit pit pidddrrrreedrr, which is variable and important in establishing a territory. Riparian habitats and semi-open environments are preferred. As aerial insectivores, they catch their prey while flying. Their several months-long molt begins in summer.
  Despite being socially monogamous, vermilion flycatchers will engage in extra-pair copulation. They also practice within-species brood parasitism, whereby females lay their eggs in the nest of another individual. Females build shallow open cup nests and incubate the brown-speckled whitish eggs. The male feeds the female during incubation. Two broods of two-to-three eggs are laid in a season lasting from March through June.
context_section_description: The vermilion flycatcher is a small bird, measuring 13–14 cm (5.1–5.5 in) from tip to tail, around 7.8 cm (3.1 in) from wingtip to body, with a mass between 11 and 14 g (0.39 and 0.49 oz). It is strongly dimorphic. Males are bright red, with contrasting dark brown plumage. Females are drab and have a peach-colored belly with a dark gray upperside. The reddish color varies, but can be vermilion, scarlet, or orangish. In males, the crown, chest, and underparts are red. The lores (region in front of the eyes), nape, ear coverts, wings, upperparts and tail are all brown to blackish brown. The female has a grayish crown, as well as grayish ear coverts, wings and tail. The flight feathers and wing coverts are slightly paler gray, which create a barring effect. The supercilium (eyebrow) is whiter. The underparts start white but become light red moving downward. Juveniles of both sexes look similar to adult females; juvenile males have much brighter red underparts, whereas juvenile females have yellowish underparts. Plumage appears constant throughout the year for both adult sexes and juveniles. They have a slight crest, which can be raised when needed. Males are not easily mistaken for other species, but the drab females may be confused with the Say's phoebe.
  Worn feathers are replaced by molting, which takes between 62 and 79 days and begins in July, lasting until September. Many vermilion flycatchers only molt after completing their migration to warmer regions. The molt is fairly slow compared to that of other families, as quick molting creates poor feathers and interrupts flight, which is untenable for an aerially feeding species. A 2013 study determined that monsoon rain patterns do not affect molting, as had been previously expected. Instead, latitude-based temporal effects are more important in timing the molt.
caption: Male in Bosque Protector Jerusalem, Ecuador
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "6000", "Image ImageLength": "4000", "Image BitsPerSample": "[8, 8, 8]", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 77D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image SamplesPerPixel": "3", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Elements 13.0 (Macintosh)", "Image DateTime": "2018:08:07 10:28:22", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "312", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "Image GPSInfo": "1260", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1374", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7794", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/400", "EXIF FNumber": "16", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:06:01 14:20:21", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:06:01 14:20:21", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "69/8", "EXIF ApertureValue": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "300", "EXIF SubSecTime": "43", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "43", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "43", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2524", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1893", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1228", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "2000000/307", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2000000/297", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF CameraOwnerName": "", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "052031000231", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[300, 300, 0, 0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF300mm f/4L IS USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "0000000000"}