by Robert McFarlane, Houston Bird Survey Coordinator
A diverse assortment of a dozen species of flycatchers has been reported in our survey. As insect eaters that primarily utilize a 'sit-and-sally' foraging strategy, they allow us to address the question "do urban habitats provide a sufficient insect resource to support these insectivores?"
Our flycatcher assemblage includes four tyrant flycatchers of the genus Tyrannus. The most common is the
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. It is widespread across Harris County and can be found within Beltway 8 and Loop 610 but not in the downtown area of primarily impervious surface. It only occurs during the summer. The Eastern Kingbird is quite uncommon in the county and does not penetrate the urban area except along the southeastern portion of the Beltway. It is present during the summer, with one report during winter at Brazos Bend State Park. The Western Kingbird is a recent arrival in Harris County and rare. However, it does manage to persist within Loop 610 and even the downtown area, along Buffalo Bayou and successfully nested at a power substation adjacent to the Toyota Center. It occurs only during summer. Couch’s Kingbird has been reported once from rural Cullinan Park during the winter.
There is only one Myiarchus species in the survey, the Great Crested Flycatcher, a forest dweller. It appears to be common in Harris County but decidedly less so in the urban areas. It has penetrated both Beltway 8 and Loop 610 but not the downtown area. It occurs only during summer. Likewise, there is only one Contopus species, the Eastern Wood Pewee, a smaller forest dweller. It has been reported from only four sites in Harris County during summer, all beyond Beltway 8, and Richmond; in winter it was reported from only Kleb Woods County Park and Brazos Bend State Park.
The Eastern Phoebe exhibits a reverse pattern, being common in winter but reported from only one site in summer. It readily penetrates Beltway 8 and Loop 610, to just outside of the downtown area. This raises an interesting question; if the other flycatchers migrate away from the area during winter, presumably due to an inadequate food resource, what does this phoebe feed on that others cannot? Further, what ecological requirement is missing that requires the species to migrate north to nest? The Black Phoebe has been reported once, beyond Beltway 8, in summer.
Two Empidonax flycatchers have been reported. The Acadian Flycatcher has been reported from two sites in Harris County, both beyond Beltway 8, and from the Jones State Forest to our north and Brazos Bend State Park to the south, all during the summer only. The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher has been observed at two sites in Harris County beyond Beltway 8 during the winter.
The Vermilion Flycatcher has been reported from a single site in Harris County beyond Beltway 8 and from Brazos Bend State Park, only in winter. The Great Kiskadee has been reported from one site during the summer, and two sites during the winter, in Harris County beyond Beltway 8.
Thus only three flycatchers are common in Harris County. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is less common in open urban areas and the Great Crested Flycatcher is less common in isolated patches of urban forest but both successfully nest in the city. The Eastern Phoebe winters in urban areas. Other flycatcher species appear to have difficulty becoming established in the urban environment.
