Richard Moore Outdoor Report: Vermilion Flycatcher

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — You just never know what sunrise will reveal in the wildlands of southernmost Texas. 

Perched on a mesquite limb is the brilliantly hued vermilion flycatcher, or as it is known in Spanish, “Brasita del Fuego,” or little coal of fire. 

Indeed, the aptly named flycatcher almost seems to simmer with red-orange inner fire like a glowing ember in the chaparral. 

The flycatcher does not stay perched for long, as he’s off to snare a tasty insect to feed his hungry offspring. 

Tucked in a crevice on a weathered mesquite limb is the superbly camouflaged nest, and inside the tidy structure of twigs and lichens crouches the youngster, barely peering over the edge. 

Junior doesn’t have to wait long before dinner arrives. After a quick beak-to-beak transfer, the attentive father lingers, making sure all is well with the one nestling in the tree top abode. 

The next meal is airlifted in by mom. Her plumage is more subdued than the male's, with soft gray-brown feathering and a lightly streaked buff breast. 

Meanwhile, the male is perched nearby amidst gently swaying mesquite leaves where he can quickly dart off to snatch a bug. 

This time the handoff goes to his mate, and the movement is so quick you have to slow it down to reveal a flawless transfer of bug to beak.  

It takes teamwork to keep this little rascal fed, and while vermilion flycatchers often have several young, this sole offspring is benefiting from all the parental attention. 

After two weeks of gobbling insects, the little flycatcher begins testing flight feathers with enthusiastic winger-sizing.  

The next day, mom dutifully delivers yet another meal and then departs. The youngster stares after her for a moment before suddenly hopping out of the nest…and with one last look around, takes flight.

The male makes one final check, confirming no one else is in the nest, before tending to his fledgling sequestered in sheltering branches of the venerable mesquite.