Birdwatchers atwitter after rare sighting of piratic flycatcher near Carlsbad Caverns

Photo: Wikipedia

CARLSBAD CAVERNS - Haven't you heard? Piratic flycatcher is the word among Southeastern New Mexico birdwatchers after the South American species was spotted around Rattlesnake Springs.

"It usually nests is southern South America during the summer (North America's winter) and flies north during the winter (North America's Summer), but when it should be heading south again, it is heading even further north here to New Mexico," said Steve West, a member of the New Mexico Ornithological Society. "It is 3,000 to 5,000 miles away from its normal range."

The species is usually only found no further north than Mexico or the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, but this one has found its way well above the equator and will soon find the temperatures here cooling instead of warming as the bird might expect.

"He's going to be a little confused when that happens," West said.

This marks only the third time the species of bird has been documented in New Mexico and the sixth in U.S. history. When one was spotted in 1996, it stayed in the area for slightly more than a week before it departed. 

http://www.currentargus.com/carlsbad-news/ci_21566879/birdwatchers-atwitter-after-rare-sighting-piratic-flycatcher-near?source=rss

More on the Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius):

http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=4436

http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=202109