Scissor-tailed flycatcher

A rare visitor to Manitoba. The scissor-tailed flycatcher is a bird of the southern Great Plains and is not a regular here, but every so often one wanders far north of its usual range. Finding one on a prairie branch is a real treat.

Its tail is its trademark: two long, forked streamers that can be longer than the rest of the bird and open and close like scissors in flight. A pale grey head, a soft salmon wash on the flanks, and a hidden flash of red-orange at the shoulder complete the look. Scissor-tailed flycatchers hunt insects by launching from a perch and snapping them out of the air, and most spend the winter in Mexico and Central America.

I love the long, forked tail and the hidden flash of red at the shoulder, which make this prairie wanderer look more like an ornament than a flycatcher.

To learn more about this bird and its habitat, visit the scissor-tailed flycatcher page at All About Birds.

Field notes in photographs

Scissor-tailed flycatcher Manitoba sightings

Where and when you can find the scissor-tailed flycatcher in Manitoba depends on the season and the habitat. You can see more species in the Manitoba birds section.

Back to Manitoba bird photography, or see the portfolio.