Darwin's flycatcher

Darwin's flycatcher was originally described as a full species Pyrocephalus nanus in 1838 by John Gould.{{cite book | last=Gould |first=John | date= 1841 | title=The zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle during the years 1832 to 1836 |volume= III Birds |publisher=Smith, Elder & Co | pages=45–46 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40300068 |access-date=April 16, 2025}}The species' description is credited to 1838 though the book itself was published in 1841. After many taxonomic changes it was generally recognized as a subspecies of the widespread vermilion flycatcher (P. rubinus sensu lato). A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2016 suggested that it be treated as a full species.{{cite journal | last1=Carmi | first1=O. | last2=Witt | first2=C.C. | last3=Jaramillo | first3=A. | last4=Dumbacher | first4=J.P. | year=2016 | title=Phylogeography of the Vermilion Flycatcher species complex: Multiple speciation events, shifts in migratory behavior, and an apparent extinction of a Galápagos-endemic bird species | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=102 | pages=152–173 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.05.029 | pmid=27233443 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2016MolPE.102..152C }} BirdLife International's Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) recognized the split in 2016.BirdLife International (2016) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 9. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/BirdLife_Checklist_Version_90.zip The IOC followed suit in January 2017, the South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society in 2020, the Clements taxonomy in 2021, and the AOS North American Classification Committee in 2022.{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/flycatchers/ |title=Tyrant flycatchers |website=IOC World Bird List |version =v 7.1 | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David |date=January 2017 |access-date=April 16, 2025 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCRecentChanges.htm |title=Split Pyrocephalus (rubinus) nanus group as a separate species from mainland P. rubinus |last=Jaramillo |first=Alvaro |date=July 28, 2020 |website=Recent Changes |publisher=South American Classification Committee |access-date=April 16, 2025 }}Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved August 30, 2021R. Terry Chesser, Shawn M. Billerman, Kevin J. Burns, Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Blanca E. Hernández-Baños, Rosa Alicia Jiménez, Andrew W. Kratter, Nicholas A. Mason, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, Jr., Douglas F. Stotz, and Kevin Winker. "Sixty-third supplement to the American Ornithological Society s Check-list of North American Birds". American Ornithology 2022, vol. 139:1-13 retrieved August 9, 2022

Darwin's flycatcher is about {{convert|13|to|14|cm|in|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} long and weighs {{convert|11|to|14|g|oz|sigfig=2|abbr=on}}. Adult males have a bright vermilion, scarlet, or orange forehead and crown down to the eye. Their lores and ear coverts are blackish brown and form a "mask" that continues around their nape. Their upperparts, wings, and tail are blackish brown, with slightly paler remiges and wing coverts. The lower part of their face, their throat, and their underparts are the same shade of red as their crown. Adult females have a grayish brown head with an indistinct grayish supercilium. Their back, rump, wings, and tail are grayish brown that is darkest on the tail. Their throat is whitish. Their underparts progress from pale red on the breast to salmon on the undertail coverts, with thin gray streaks on the breast, sides, and flanks. Both sexes have a dark brown iris, a brownish black bill, and black to brownish black legs and feet.Ellison, K., B. O. Wolf, and S. L. Jones (2021). Brujo Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus nanus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.brufly1.01 retrieved April 16, 2025

Darwin's flycatcher is found on the major islands of Ecuador's Galápagos archipelago with the exception of San Cristóbal. It inhabits the interior and edges of somewhat humid forest in the highlands. Typical forest species are of genera Scalesia, Tournefortia, and Zanthoxylum.

Darwin's flycatcher is a year-round resident.

Darwin's flycatcher feeds mostly on flying and terrestrial insects and also includes other arthropods in its diet, though details are lacking. It sits on an exposed perch and chases or pounces on prey from it.

Darwin's flycatcher breeds between December and May, the rainy season. Its nest is a cup made from moss and lichens placed in a tree or shrub. Its clutch is three eggs. Nothing else is known about the species' breeding biology.

{{birdsong|url=https://xeno-canto.org/species/Pyrocephalus-nanus |species=Darwin's flycatcher}}

As of April 2025 xeno-canto had seven recordings of Darwin's flycatcher vocalizations and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library had 10 with no overlap between them.{{cite web |url=https://search.macaulaylibrary.org/catalog?taxonCode=brufly1&mediaType=audio&sort=rating_rank_desc |title=Brujo Flycatcher - Pyrocephalus nanus |author= |date=April 16, 2025 |website=Macaulay Library |publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology |access-date=April 16, 2025 }} The species sings during an undulating circular flight display, with the song described as "loudly whispering chew wit" followed by a "sharp mechanical snap". Perched birds give a similar chew wit and also "a sharp pew note".{{cite journal |last=Debenedictis |first=P. |date=1966 |title=The flight song display of two taxa of Vermilion Flycatcher, genus Pyrocelphalus |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v068n03/p0306-p0307.pdf |journal=Condor |volume=68 |pages=306–307 |access-date=April 16, 2025 }}

The IUCN has assessed Darwin's flycatcher as Near Threatened. It has a limited range. Its "best estimate" population is 52,000 mature individuals with a possible range of 36,000 to 72,000. It is possibly extirpated from Floreana and Santa Fe islands. The species is "in serious decline" on Santa Cruz. "[T]hreats include competition from non-native birds like the smooth-billed ani [Crotophaga ani], and parasitisation from the larvae of the introduced parasitic fly, Philornis downsi. The Galapagos Conservation Trust "is currently supporting partners in their efforts to restore Floreana island to its former ecological glory, with the long-term goal of reintroducing locally extinct species such as the little vermilion flycatcher."{{Cite web|title=Vermilion Flycatcher|url=https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/wildlife/vermilion-flycatcher/|access-date=2021-01-26|website=Galapagos Conservation Trust|language=en-GB}} In May 2023 conservation experts reported that 12 new chicks had been born that year on Santa Cruz. There were only 15 breeding pairs. The reserve's director Danny Rueda said that each chick that is born was a "new hope to save this species", adding "These 12 new birds constitute a veritable success since initiating the program in 2018 and finally getting results".{{cite web |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/05/12/new-hope-tiny-galapagos-island-birds-make-promising-comeback |title='New hope': Tiny Galápagos island birds make promising comeback |last=Elton |first=Charlotte |date=12 May 2023 |publisher=euronews.com |access-date=30 June 2023}}

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Darwin's flycatcher

Category:Endemic birds of the Galápagos Islands

Darwin's flycatcher

Darwin's flycatcher