“It’s not what you look at that matters,
it’s what you see.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Spring migration through South Texas brings surprises, and this Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) was one of the first birds to greet me during my late April visit to the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas.
Measuring 7.9–8.7 inches (20–22 cm) in length with a wingspan of 13–15 inches (33–38 cm), this is a large, assertive flycatcher. In Texas, it passes through northbound from roughly early March to mid-June, with peak movement from late March through mid-May. It does not stay year-round — it winters mainly from Mexico to Colombia.
This was a very friendly and cooperative flycatcher. It even turned around to let me see that distinctive signature lemon-yellow belly and gray breast. One unforgettable trait of the Great Crested Flycatcher is weaving shed snakeskin into its nest lining — and where snakeskin is plentiful, nearly every nest contains it. Whether to deter predators or simply attract the eye, it’s a habit as bold as the bird itself.
That is the story behind the shots. If you liked this post, you may also be interested in others featuring Bird of the Week, Great Crested Flycatcher, Mission, National Butterfly Center, Parks, Texas, Wildlife. Until the next time, keep clicking and capturing the beauty your eyes find.
Posted for I.J. Khanewala’s Birds of the Week Invitation CLVXVIII.
Sources:
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds: allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Crested_Flycatcher
- Audubon Society Field Guide: audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-crested-flycatcher
- Texas Breeding Bird Atlas, Texas A&M University: txtbba.tamu.edu/species-accounts/great-crested-flycatcher
- Wikipedia — Great Crested Flycatcher: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_crested_flycatcher
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Donna Robinson Photography
What a beautiful bird and nice photos!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the feedback, Donna.
Bay Photos By Donna
Fab photos, Egidio! I have these fellas in my backyard, you know when they are there before you see them, so loud. I love them!
Egidio Leitao
Thank you, Donna. You’re lucky to have them. I have not seen them in our backyard.
Steve Schwartzman
So you went on a wildlife mission to Mission. Weaving shed snakeskin into a nest comes as a surprise; who would have thought of doing that, other than a flycatcher?
The original of the Thoreau quotation is in his Journal of 5 August 1851: “The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” The version that circulates on the Internet has been altered.
Egidio Leitao
Hehehe… A mission in Mission! I don’t know why they changed Thoreau’s original. It’s beautiful as he wrote it.
Steve Schwartzman
I expect some alterations happen when a person remembers the gist of a quotation but not the exact wording. In other cases, some people apparently feel they can change a quotation at will and not alert readers to the change. Check out
https://www.walden.org/what-we-do/library/thoreau/mis-quotations/
for mis-quotations of things Thoreau wrote and also for things attributed to Thoreau that he never wrote.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks for the link. Why would someone misquote or rewrite what is already in press? That’s baffling.
I. J. Khanewala
A lovely new-world flycatcher. By your description it seems to have the same habits as our local flycatchers as far as waiting for prey is concerned. The nesting material seems to be its own special preference.
Egidio Leitao
That’s nice to hear, I.J. Although miles away, our birds share similar traits.
Anita
Beautiful photos Egidio. The Great Crested Flycatcher seems like a striking bird, and that detail about using snakeskin in the nest is such an interesting fact.
The Thoreau quote you chose is one of my favourites.
Egidio Leitao
Thoreau has some beautiful nature quotes. Glad you liked the post, too.
margaret21
Snakeskin nest? Very up-market!
Egidio Leitao
I was surprised, too. I guess it helps keep predators away. One would hope…
Tra Italia e Finlandia
Grazie per la condivisione, Egidio.
Egidio Leitao
Sono contento che ti sia piaciuto.
Writing to Freedom
Great photos of a beautiful bird that I’ve never seen.
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Brad. It was also my first time seeing one. Come to think of it, several of the birds I saw at the National Butterfly Center were my first time photographing them.
Writing to Freedom
Nice!
Terri Webster Schrandt
Beautiful shots of the big flycatcher, Egidio! We are enjoying its western, smaller cousins, the Say’s Phoebes as they nest and fledge their young this week! More about that later, but I want to share this pic that shows the feather markings!
https://terriwebsterschrandt.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2024-6-3-pastel-phoebes.jpg
Egidio Leitao
What a cute bird it is! Thanks for sending the link. Here, I only see Eastern Phoebes. Having a nest right there close to you is wonderful.
Terri Webster Schrandt
I just remembered you saw the new brood on Facebook.
Anne Sandler
Nice capture Egidio!
Egidio Leitao
Thanks, Anne.