Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrranus forficatus)

Abundance:  Very Uncommon (19 records in 4 Tennessee counties).

Status: Summer Resident (14 summer records, 2 of which merge with spring records); Transient (3 spring records, each of which merges with a summer record; 4 fall records); photographs (see links below).

Regional High Count: 9 [adults; also 1 juvenile, 5 fledglings, and several nestlings] (1 July 2008; Bledsoe County, Tennessee; Edmund K. LeGrand, Stephen J. Stedman).

Information on Records: 

4 June-13 July 2000 (pair with nest and 1-2 young) north of Pikeville, Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Debbie Shannon, Roi Shannon, m. ob.; Knight 2000d).

8 June 2001 (1) Ball Hill Rd., Putnam County, Tennessee (Barbara H. Stedman; Casteel 2001d).

17 August 2002 (2) Warren County, Tennessee (Susan N. McWhirter; Casteel 2003a).

13 June-15 July 2004 (pair with nest and 4 young) Ninemile Crossroad [0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Debbie Shannon, Roi Shannon, Edmund K. LeGrand photo, m. ob.; Knight 2004d), photo [fledgling] (2 July 2004, Edmund K. LeGrand).

20 October 2004 (1--adult) Dodson Branch Rd. north of Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Ginger K. Ensor; Casteel 2005a).

4 June 2005 (pair with nest) Ninemile Crossroad [0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Debbie Shannon, Roi Shannon unpubl. data).

10 June-13 July 2006 (pair with nest and 4 young) Ninemile Crossroad [0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Debbie Shannon, Roi Shannon et al., unpubl. data); photo (adult [shading young in nest] 1 July 2006, Joseph E. Mast).

17 May/16 June/21 June/28 July 2007 (1 adult/pair with 3 young in nest/pair with 1 young in nest and 1 young out of nest/ 1--adult) Ninemile Crossroad [0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data/Debbie Shannon, Roi Shannon, Harold Birch unpubl. data/Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data/Michele Ramsey unpubl. data).

9 June 2007 (1--adult) Booher Lane, Monroe, Overton County, Tennessee (Stanley Carter unpubl. data).

21 June 2007 (1--adult [probable female]) Lower East Valley Rd., Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data).

2 September 2007 (1) Upper East Valley Rd. 2 km south of intersection with Ninemile Crossroad, Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data).

3/4 May/8/13 June/1 July 2008 (2/1--adults/pair with nest/pair/pair at nest with nestlings) Ninemile Crossroad [0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data/DJ Stanley photo [adult] and unpubl. data/Chuck and Lola Estes unpubl. data/Carol D. Williams, Judy C. Fuson unpubl. data/Stephen J. Stedman, Edmund K. LeGrand photo and unpubl. data).

8 June 2008 (1--adult) Slaughterhouse Rd., Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Chuck and Lola Estes unpublished data).

1 July/9 August 2008 (pair and 2 fledglings/2 adults) Brushy Cemetery on Old Rt. 28 [c. 1.5 km north of Ninemile Crossroad], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand photo, Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data/Stephen J.Stedman, Jack Carr photo, Nan Evans Beesley, Annell Fields unpubl. data).

1 July 2008 (1 male, 1 juvenile, used nest) intersection Upper East Valley Rd. and Akins Rd. near Swafford Pond, Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman, Edmund K. LeGrand photo [juvenile] and unpubl. data).

1 July 2008 (pair with 3 fledglings) Old Rt. 28 [0.4 km south of Ninemile Crossroad], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand photo, Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data).

1 July 2008 (pair) Ninemile Crossroad  [1.2 km east of Old Rt. 28], Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Edmund K. LeGrand, Stephen J. Stedman unpubl. data).

9 August 2008 (2--adults) Ninemile Crossroad [c. 1 km west of Upper East Valley Rd.] Bledsoe County, Tennessee (Stephen J.Stedman, Jack Carr photo, Nan Evans Beesley, Annell Fields unpubl. data).

18 April 2009 (1) Oxier Hollow Rd., Bledsoe County, Tennessee (DJ Stanley photo and unpubl. data).

Regional Extreme Dates: 

    Early Spring: 18 April 2009 (1 adult; Bledsoe County, Tennessee; DJ Stanley).

    Late Fall: 20 October 2004 (1 adult; Putnam County, Tennessee; Ginger K. Ensor).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). Nesting records were obtained in Bledsoe County during six breeding seasons of the period 2000-2008 with breeding confirmed at one site (Ninemile Crossroad 0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28) during all of those seasons and at no fewer than four sites during the last of these seasons.

Habitat: Open agricultural land with fences and other low perches is attractive to this stunning flycatcher.  Nests are sometimes placed on the crossbeams of, or other attachments on, power poles, as was the case with the nests constructed from 2004 to 2008 on Ninemile Crossroad (0.3 km east of Old Rt. 28) and as was the case with the nest constructed in 2008 at the intersection of Upper East Valley Rd. and Akins Rd., both in Bledsoe County, Tennessee.

Remarks: 

Counties with Observations (boldfaced; county with confirmed breeding in bold green):

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the boldfaced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited