Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Table

Dusky-capped Flycatcher – Accepted
1. 23 Nov 1968	HY	Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1984-084	9	ph., LACM 66519
2. 29 Nov 1975–04 Jan 1976		Furnace Creek Ranch INY	1976-010	3	ph.
3. 07 Dec 1975–11 Apr 1976		Carmel R. mouth MTY	1976-008	3	ph., Roberson (1980, 1985)
4. 30 Dec 1979–10 Feb 1980		Irvine ORA	1980-028	6	AB 34:307
5. 07 Dec 1980–24 Jan 1981		Santa Cruz SCZ	1980-190	7	ph.
6. 12–14 Nov 1983		Palomarin MRN	1983-132	9	ph.
7. 05 Dec 1983		Goleta SBA	1983-126	9	ph.
8. 13 Jan–14 Mar 1984		Arcata HUM	1984-055	9	ph., HSU 5733, AB 38:354
9. 22 Jan–21 May 1984		Los Osos SLO	1984-023	9	ph.
10. 08 Mar 1985		La Jolla SD	1985-049	10	ph.
11. 01 Dec 1985		Goleta SBA	1986-075	11
12. 21 Nov 1987–03 Apr 1988		Mission Viejo ORA	1987-375	13
13. 22–30 Dec 1987		vic. Calipatria IMP	1988-044	13
14. 21 Jan–10 Mar 1988		vic. Watsonville SCZ	1988-061	13
15. 16 Feb–07 Apr 1988		Balboa Park SD	1988-091	13
16. 28 Dec 1989–20 May 1990		Pine Lake Park SF	1990-004	15
17. 01–04 Dec 1990		Natural Bridges State Beach SCZ	1992-060	17
18. 25–26 Nov 1991		El Granada SM	1992-022	17	audio
19. 12 Dec 1991–04 Apr 1992		Orange ORA	1992-003	17	ph.
20. 31 Jan–09 Feb 1992		vic. Lompoc SBA	1992-085	18	ph.
21. 04–06 Nov 1992		Carson LA	1992-305	18
22. 20 Nov–15 Dec 1992		Big Sur R. mouth MTY	1992-308	18	ph.
23. 21 Nov 1992–10 Jan 1993		Natural Bridges State Beach SCZ	1992-314	18
24. 07–13 Dec 1992		Bolinas Lagoon MRN	1993-034	18	ph.
25. 13–19 Dec 1992		San Marino LA	1993-047	18	ph.
26. 23 Dec 1992–11 Jan 1993		Pacific Grove MTY	1992-313	18	ph.
27. 29 Dec 1992–02 Jan 1993		Pacific Grove MTY	1993-005	18	ph., AB 47:321, Roberson (2002:279)
28. 29 Dec 1992–02 Mar 1993		Goleta SBA	1993-006	18	ph.
29. 09–11 Nov 1993		Trinidad HUM	1994-064	19	ph.
30. 20–21 Nov 1993		Gazos Creek SM	1993-195	19
31. 01–17 Jan 1994		Palos Verdes Peninsula LA	1994-055	20	ph.
32. 11 Nov 1994		Carmel R. mouth MTY	1994-186	20
33. 28 Nov 1994		Huntington Beach ORA	1994-177	20
34. 28 Dec 1994–15 Jan 1995		Fountain Valley ORA	1995-009	20	ph.
35. 27 Dec 1995–06 May 1996		Moss Landing MTY	1996-035	21	ph.
36. 31 Dec 1995–20 Jan 1996		Ft. Funston SF	1996-027	21	ph.
37. 30 Nov 1996–22 Mar 1997		Pine Lake Park SF	1997-005	22	ph.
38. 14 Dec 1996–26 Jan 1997		Laguna Cr. Beach SCZ	1997-004	22	ph., end date fide D. L. Suddjian
39. 12 Apr–01 May 1997		Pt. Loma SD	1997-078	23
40. 07–11 Nov 1997		Bishop INY	1997-205	23	ph.
41. 16 Nov 1997		Corona del Mar ORA	1998-018	23
42. 01 Dec 1997		Half Moon Bay SM	1997-212	23	ph.
43. 09 Dec 1997–14 Mar 1998		Santa Cruz SCZ	1998-062	23
and 19 Dec 1998			1999-027	24
44. 21–30 Dec 1997		Lake Merced SF	1998-092	23
45. 21 Dec 1997–24 Jan 1998		Lake Forest ORA	1998-066	23
46. 12 Jan–21 Mar 1998		Bolinas MRN	1998-002	24
47. 12 Jan–28 Mar 1998		Finney Lake IMP	1998-051	24	ph
48. 12–19 Dec 1998		Los Osos SLO	1999-096	24
49. 23–27 Dec 1998		Bodega Bay SON	1999-005	24
50. 23 Dec 1998–16 Jan 1999		Bodega Dunes Campground SON	1999-006	24	ph.
51. 27 Dec 1998–28 Mar 1999		Long Beach LA	1999-016	24	ph.
52. 28 Dec 1998–02 Jan 1999	HY	Ventura VEN	1999-029	24	Fig. 345, ph.
53. 14 Feb 1999		Lobitos Creek SM	1999-088	25
54. 12–13 Apr 1999		Carpinteria SBA	1999-118	25
55. 12 Dec 1999–07 Jan 2000		Glendora LA	1999-209	25
56. 02 Jan–07 Feb 2000		Año Nuevo State Reserve SM	2000-064	26
57. 10 Jan–27 Feb 2000		Fountain Valley ORA	2000-039	26
58. 23 Mar 2000		vic. Brawley IMP	2000-069	26
59. 01–12 Nov 2000		Golden Gate Park SF	2000-159	26
60. 10 Dec 2000–06 Jan 2001		Santa Barbara SBA	2001-011	26
61. 17 Nov 2001		Bodega Head SON	2001-197	27
62. 15 Dec 2001–20 Apr 2002		San Diego SD	2001-221	27
63. 16 Dec 2001–20 Jan 2002		Lake Merritt, Oakland ALA	2001-218	27
64. 16 Dec 2002–24 May 2003		Irvine ORA	2002-215	28	ph.
65. 09 Dec 2003–25 Apr 2004		Fountain Valley ORA	2003-025	29	ph.
Dusky-capped Flycatcher – Not accepted, identification not established
09–14 Nov 1977		vic. Walters Camp (Arizona)	2004-567	14,30	not a California record, see Rosenberg et al. (1991)
27 Sep 1982		Cholame SLO	1983-021	9
07 Jun 1986		Deep Springs INY	1986-373	14
07 Nov 1992		Montaña de Oro State Park SLO	1993-019	19
30 Nov 1994		Pt. Lobos MTY	1994-187	21
01 Oct 1995		Sepulveda Basin LA	1996-049	22
21–26 Nov 1999		Oceano SLO	2000-032	25
29 May 2001		vic. Port Hueneme VEN	2001-096	27
25 Nov 2001		Hansen Dam Recreation Area LA	2001-213	28
Dusky-capped Flycatcher – Not submitted
30 Nov–02 Dec 1992		El Granada SM			AB 47:146, 298
29 Nov–06 Dec 1996		Newport Beach ORA			FN 51:121, 804

Figures

Figure 345. California records of the Dusky-capped Flycatcher have increased remarkably since the mid 1980s. This first-winter bird was photographed on 29 December 1998 in Ventura, Ventura County (1999-029; Don DesJardin).

Figure 346. California records of the Dusky-capped Flycatcher from winter 1968/1969 to winter 2003/2004. That eight birds were found wintering during each of three years in the 1990s is remarkable for a species considered extremely rare in the 1970s. As reviewed in Appendix H, 2005/2006 yielded a new high seasonal total of 11 accepted records.

Figure 347 (right). Distribution of 65 Dusky-capped Flycatchers accepted through 2003. The relative rarity of the species in San Diego County (e.g., Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties each have more records) suggests that birds mistakenly dispersing to the northwest from Arizona and Mexico tend to miss the extreme southwestern corner of the state.

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER Myiarchus tuberculifer
(d’Orbigny and Lafresnaye, 1837)

Accepted: 65 (88%)	Treated in Appendix H: yes
Not accepted: 9	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 2	Color image: page H-25

This flycatcher breeds from southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico—and recently western Texas (Lockwood and Freeman 2004)—south through Middle America to northern and central South America. Among 12 described subspecies, northerly M. t. olivascens breeds in the United States and northwestern Mexico. The AOU (1998) recognized the tuberculifer group, which is widespread and partially migratory (populations that breed in the United States, northern Mexico, and on the Yucatan Peninsula), and the atriceps group, which is resident along the eastern slope of the Andes Mts. of South America. Birds that breed in southernmost South America move northward during the austral winter (AOU 1998). The species is casual or accidental in Oregon, southeastern Colorado, and central Arizona, and on the Baja California Peninsula and Isla Isabela (off Nayarit). Virtually all extralimital records in the United States pertain to subspecies olivascens in late fall and winter (some have lingered well into May). Subspecies lawrencei of southeastern Mexico has been recorded wintering in southern Texas (McKinney 2002; NAB 59:294, 368; 60:256).

The first Dusky-capped Flycatcher recorded in California was a first-fall male olivascens collected on 23 November 1968 at Furnace Creek Ranch in Inyo County (Suffel 1970). Only two records were added during the next ten years, and the total stood at just 16 at the end of the 1980s. A decade later, however, the number had mushroomed to 55 (Figure 346), presumably reflecting better and more widespread knowledge of identification methods along with increased observer coverage (see Patten and Erickson 1994). All records involve late fall vagrants or wintering birds, the earliest date being 1 November and the latest 24 May. The Dusky-capped Flycatcher’s occurrence has been almost strictly coastal (59 of 65 records), with most birds found between Orange and Sonoma Counties (see Erickson and Hamilton 2001, Figure 347). Well to the north, in Humboldt County, a bird wintered in Arcata from 13 January to 14 March 1984 and a fall vagrant was present in Trinidad from 9 to 11 November 1993; see also Appendix H. The only Dusky-capped Flycatcher ever recorded farther north was present from 2 to 11 January 1996 in Newport, on Oregon’s northern coast (Dickey 1996). Surprisingly, the species has yet to be recorded on Southeast Farallon Island. The six inland records are evenly split between Inyo County and the Imperial Valley. Identification of Myiarchus flycatchers in Mexico was treated by Howell and Webb (1994).

Determining the age of a Dusky-capped Flycatcher is difficult after completion of the preformative molt (usually by mid December). Only the primary coverts are normally retained, and excellent views of these feathers are required to determine the bird’s age. Most of these birds reach California after completing this molt, and so very few have been aged.