The Story
I photographed this Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) at Hacienda La Cabaña, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It lives in shrubland, savanna and grassland from southern Mexico to Argentina. Males have an extremely long, forked tail, two to three times the length of the body, though the bird weighs only about 30 grams. It watches from conspicuous perches and sallies out after insects. Most fork-tailed flycatchers are migratory, and their wings make a whistling note in flight. Hacienda La Cabaña is a family-run ranch stay where guests ride out into the savanna to see the wildlife of the Llanos.
I used a Pentax K-1 with the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6 for this one, at 1/1600 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. For now, IUCN lists the Fork-tailed Flycatcher as Least Concern, and its population appears to be stable.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Fork-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus savana) belongs to the family Tyrannidae (Tyrant Flycatchers) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List