Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
A pale summer flycatcher turns Kansas utility lines into launchpads for pink-flashed aerial loops.
Artwork inspired by Charles Banks Wilson
Scissor-tailed flycatchers are slim, pale kingbirds with blackish wings, salmon-pink flanks, and extraordinary deeply forked tails. From a wire or isolated branch they launch after flying insects, twist sharply, and often return to nearly the same perch. Adult males usually carry the longest tail streamers; juveniles begin with much shorter tails.
South-central Kansas is the reliable part of the state for summer sightings, particularly along open ranch roads and field edges from late April into August. Watch behavior before chasing silhouette details: repeated outward sallies identify a flycatcher. Nesting pairs defend exposed roadside trees vigorously, so remain well away from the nest.
- Season
- Late spring through summer
- Hunt
- Aerial insect sallies
- Color surprise
- Salmon-pink wing lining
Quick guide
- Look
- Very long forked tail on a pale bird
- Search
- Wires over open southern Kansas fields
Separate Scissor-tailed Flycatcher from look-alikes
- Tail
- Adults show stiff outer feathers forming an exceptionally deep fork.
- Color
- Pale gray body, dark wings, and salmon-pink flanks appear best in flight.
- Behavior
- The bird loops out for an insect, then returns to its exposed perch.
- Young
- Short-tailed juveniles can resemble Western Kingbirds; check pale color and family group.
Good to know
The tail is not merely decorative: the bird opens and closes it as a control surface during abrupt aerial turns.
Notice these
- Scissorlike tail
- Pale gray body
- Salmon-pink flanks
- Wire-side sallies