Every year, while watching the Masters Golf Tournament from Augusta, Georgia, I take note of the distinctive calls of great crested flycatchers in the background, knowing that they will soon return to central Missouri. Yesterday, the first one appeared in our backyard, his loud voice ringing through the neighborhood.
Large, colorful, noisy and aggressive, these flycatchers winter in Southern Florida, Central America and northern South America; they summer and breed across the eastern half of the U.S. Consuming a wide variety of insects and spiders, great crested flycatchers also feast on berries, especially during their months in the Tropics. Nests, which often include snakeskin, are constructed within tree cavities.
Their loud, distinctive calls, usually delivered from treetops, will only intensify in the coming weeks as males attract mates and defend their nesting sites. Once the young are fledged, the males settle down and I'll have to wait until next year's Masters to hear their clarion call from the south.
