By Gail Cochrane

Liberty Wildlife Volunteer

I saw my first Vermilion flycatcher in Southeast Arizona recently.  Wow!  This is a bird with pizzazz, sparkling like a ruby against the blue sky. The flycatcher was gleaning insects from the flowers of an ocotillo – red on red, one stationary and one in flight. The Vermilion flycatcher really shows up his near relatives, the Ash-throated flycatcher, Say’s Phoebe and Brown-crested flycatcher in the color department.  But all are flashy and efficient insect hunters, sailing out to snatch bugs from the air or from the leafy interior of a shrub or tree.  Each of these flycatchers occupies a niche in the desert and grasslands of Arizona.

The Vermilion Flycatcher is often found near streams or wetlands but also inhabits grasslands and desert habitats that offer scattered trees. I’ve never seen this crimson beauty here in the Phoenix area, but not three days after my ‘lifer’ sighting near Sunsites, a Vermilion Flycatcher showed up at the neighborhood park where I walk my pup. He was actually perching on the poop bag dispenser!  So yes, you too can keep your eyes peeled for these flashy flycatchers in the low desert and even suburban parks.

Who else is red? When I first caught sight of that bright red bird, I thought it might be a Northern Cardinal. Cardinals are so widespread and so beloved as to be the state bird in seven different states in the east. They can also be found in the Sonoran Desert, whistling their beautiful song and wooing their calmer colored females. The Cardinal is closely related to and very similar in appearance and song to the Pyrrhuloxia. Pyrrhuloxias wear their red feathers as accent points rather than dominate plumage. These birds are seed eaters, as is evident in their thick strong bills. During nesting season, they also eat insects and feed them to their young.

The male House Finch sports cherry red feathers on forehead and bib, and is conspicuous during breeding season. This songbird is a vegetarian, eating mostly seeds, buds, and greens and only occasionally insects. Flocks are common in suburban areas as well as desert canyons and washes. An attentive mate, the male faithfully feeds the female as she sits on their eggs.

A rosy red species that can be found seasonally in the desert is the Summer Tanager. Look for this handsome bird along rivers in the summer months, high in the branches of cottonwood, mesquite or sycamore trees. Summer Tanagers eat insects and small fruits found in these trees. Colorful Western Tanagers migrate through the Valley in late summer, heading back towards the tropics. Red hoods adorn their bright yellow and black plumage.

There are certainly other red feathered species in wetter and forested areas, but just a few brave birds throw caution to the wind and wear the brightest color against the muted backdrop of the desert.