Great Crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus crinitus
Flycatcher family (Tyrannidae)

Habitat:
Deciduous forest.

Description:
Large for a flycatcher, 7” long.  Crest on head, bright yellow belly, reddish-brown wings and tail, olive-brown back, dark gray throat. 

Nesting:
Cavity nester.  Builds nest in a natural cavity or in an old woodpecker hole.  Eggs are whitish with dark marks.  Clutch size – 4 to 8 eggs.

Voice:
Call notes include a loud strongly ascending “wheeep” and a burry “prreet”. 

Name Origin:
Myiarchus:  myia, Greek for “fly”; archos, Greek for “ruler”; literally “ruler of the flies”; crinitis, Latin for “hairy” or “crested”.

In the Nature Park:
Neotropical migrant.  Arrives in late April, early May.  Fairly common in the forests of the Nature Park, but like the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, is more often heard than seen.