''Myiarchus'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of birds in the tyrant flycatcher family

Tyrannidae The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) comprise a Family (biology), family of passerine birds which is found virtually throughout North America, North and South America. It is the world's largest family of birds, with more than 400 species, and is ...

. Most species are fairly similar in appearance and are easier to separate by voice than by

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

. ''Myiarchus'' flycatchers are fairly large tyrant-flycatchers at 16–23 cm (6.3–9 in) long. They are all partially crested with a brown to gray back and head, a rufous to blackish tail and yellow to pale underparts (only exception is the rufous flycatcher with

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish- red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a d ...

underparts). They typically forage by perching on an open branch and looking outward and downward for prey, which primarily consists of insects. Once it spots a potential meal, the flycatcher rapidly and directly flies at the insect, which is normally on the exposed upper surface of a leaf or twig. It hovers briefly before the insect before grabbing it in its beak and flying away to typically a new perch.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Myiarchus'' was introduced in 1844 by the German ornithologist

Jean Cabanis Jean Louis Cabanis (8 March 1816 – 20 February 1906) was a German ornithologist. He worked at the bird collections of the Natural History Museum in Berlin becoming its first curator of birds in 1850. He founded the ''Journal für Ornithologie ...

. The name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''muia'' meaning "fly" with ''arkhos'' meaning "ruler" or "chief". Cabanis did not specify a

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

for the genus but this was designated as the

short-crested flycatcher The short-crested flycatcher (''Myiarchus ferox'') is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venez ...

by George Gray in 1855. The genus contains 22 species: * Rufous flycatcher, ''Myiarchus semirufus'' *

Yucatan flycatcher The Yucatan flycatcher (''Myiarchus yucatanensis'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and the northern bordering parts of Belize and Guatemala. It is a typical ''Myiarchus'' flycatc ...

, ''Myiarchus yucatanensis'' * Sad flycatcher, ''Myiarchus barbirostris'' *

Dusky-capped flycatcher The dusky-capped flycatcher (''Myiarchus tuberculifer'') is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It breeds in forest and other woodland from southern Arizona, as well as the Chisos Mountains, Texas, south to northern Argentina and on ...

, ''Myiarchus tuberculifer'' * Swainson's flycatcher, ''Myiarchus swainsoni'' *

Venezuelan flycatcher The Venezuelan flycatcher (''Myiarchus venezuelensis'') is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. It was formerly considered to be a race of the short-crested flycatcher, ''Myiarchus ferox'', but the two species overlap without interbr ...

, ''Myiarchus venezuelensis'' * Panama flycatcher, ''Myiarchus panamensis'' *

Short-crested flycatcher The short-crested flycatcher (''Myiarchus ferox'') is a species of bird in the tyrant flycatcher family Tyrannidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venez ...

, ''Myiarchus ferox'' *

Pale-edged flycatcher The pale-edged flycatcher (''Myiarchus cephalotes'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Montane ...

, ''Myiarchus cephalotes'' * Sooty-crowned flycatcher, ''Myiarchus phaeocephalus'' *

Apical flycatcher The apical flycatcher (''Myiarchus apicalis'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is endemic to Colombia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and arid and semi-arid open areas. Taxonomy The species was fi ...

, ''Myiarchus apicalis'' *

Ash-throated flycatcher The ash-throated flycatcher (''Myiarchus cinerascens'') is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. Taxonomy First described in 1851 by George Newbold Lawrence from a specimen collected in western Texas in the United States, the ash-th ...

, ''Myiarchus cinerascens'' * Nutting's flycatcher, ''Myiarchus nuttingi'' *

Great crested flycatcher The great crested flycatcher (''Myiarchus crinitus'') is a large insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family. It is the most widespread member of the genus ''Myiarchus'' in North America, and is found over most of the eastern and mid-weste ...

, ''Myiarchus crinitus'' *

Brown-crested flycatcher The brown-crested flycatcher (''Myiarchus tyrannulus'') is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. Description Adult brown-crested flycatchers are probably the largest species of the ''Myiarchus'' flycatchers but vary considerably in s ...

, ''Myiarchus tyrannulus'' *

Grenada flycatcher The Grenada flycatcher (''Myiarchus nugator'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the brown-crested flycatcher (''Myiarchus tyrannulus''). It is found in Grenada and Saint Vincent and ...

, ''Myiarchus nugator'' * Galapagos flycatcher, ''Myiarchus magnirostris'' *

Rufous-tailed flycatcher The rufous-tailed flycatcher (''Myiarchus validus'') is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is found in Jamaica. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest ...

, ''Myiarchus validus'' * La Sagra's flycatcher, ''Myiarchus sagrae'' * Stolid flycatcher, ''Myiarchus stolidus'' * Lesser Antillean flycatcher, ''Myiarchus oberi'' *

Puerto Rican flycatcher The Puerto Rican flycatcher (''Myiarchus antillarum''), or juí is a tyrant flycatcher endemic to the Puerto Rican archipelago and one of the 22 species belonging to the genus ''Myiarchus'' of the family Tyrannidae. See also * Fauna of Puer ...

, ''Myiarchus antillarum''

References

External links

* * Bird genera {{Tyrannidae-stub