Vermilion Flycatcher Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesVermilion Flycatcher
Adult male
Medium-sized flycatcher with a short tail. Adult males are brilliant red and black.
© Bradley Hacker 🦜 / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 16, 2017Adult female
Compact flycatcher. Females are brownish above with a white breast and reddish belly and undertail coverts.
© Andrew Newmark / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 20, 2020Adult male
Found in open habitats including scrub, deserts, and weedy fields or edges, where it sits on low, exposed perches and scans for insects.
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryApril 17, 1997Not all videos have sound
Immature female
Immature females are duller than adults with a peachy belly and a streaky breast.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 28, 2020Immature male
Immature males have variable patches of red feathers on the head and breast.
© Dan Jones / Macaulay LibraryTexas, January 31, 2019Juvenile
Compact flycatcher. Juveniles are brown above with a heavily streaked belly and pale peach undertail coverts. Individuals in northern Chile are browner than birds in North America.
© VERONICA ARAYA GARCIA / Macaulay LibraryArica y Parinacota, December 01, 2016Adult male
Medium-sized flycatcher with a shorter tail. Adult males are brilliant red and black.
© Bradley Hacker 🦜 / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 16, 2017Adult female
Compact flycatcher. Females are brownish above with a white breast and reddish belly and undertail coverts.
© John Kuenzli / Macaulay LibraryTexas, May 31, 2019Adult male
Back and breast color varies slightly throughout their range from brownish black to black and from red to red-orange.
© Neil Rucker / Macaulay LibraryArizona, February 09, 2020Adult male (obscurus Group)
Some individuals from Lima, Peru, south to northern Chile are brown overall with a pale pinkish lower belly.
© Steve Kelling / Macaulay LibraryLima, April 27, 2017Adult male
Found in scrub, desert, cultivated lands, and riparian woodlands.
© Nick Dorian / Macaulay LibraryArizona, December 29, 2016Similar SpeciesSay's Phoebe
Adult
Say's Phoebes have a cinnamon wash on the flanks and tail similar to Vermilion Flycatchers, but they lack the whitish, streaked chest of female Vermilion Flycatchers.
© Daniel Irons / Macaulay LibraryMaryland, November 10, 2016Similar SpeciesScarlet Tanager
Breeding male
Breeding male Scarlet Tanagers are larger with a thicker bill than Vermilion Flycatchers. They also have red backs whereas adult male Vermilions have a black back.
© Andrew Spencer / Macaulay LibraryOntario, May 17, 2015Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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