Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in the Winter 2023-24 issue of New Hampshire Bird Records. 

Background and Breeding 

The Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) is a medium-sized flycatcher with a widespread breeding range. The core of the breeding range is from the southwestern United States through central Mexico, but some birds nest as far north as Idaho and Washington. It is a medium distance migrant that winters from southern Arizona (where it occurs year-round) south through coastal regions of Mexico and along the Pacific coastline to Honduras and Nicaragua. During fall migration, they can occasionally be seen along the east coast of the United States.

The Ash-throated Flycatcher is a member of the Myiarchus genus of flycatchers. Species within this genus can be very similar in appearance and many are best identified by voice. Only six species of Myiarchus have been recorded in the United States and the only regularly occurring member of the genus in the eastern United States is the Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchuscrinitus) which is an uncommon, but widespread nesting species in summer months throughout New Hampshire. The Ash-throated Flycatcher looks similar to the Great Crested Flycatcher; however, it is slightly smaller and paler with a different call note and tends to forage closer to the ground and in more open areas. 

 

Occurrence in New Hampshire 

Ash-throated Flycatchers are a rare fall migrant in New England, found more commonly closer to the coast; however, they appear to be increasing in occurrence as there are no historic records for the region prior to the 1970s. The first state record for Maine came in 1971 and in Massachusetts the first record followed in 1972. The first New Hampshire record came in 1998. As of April 1, 2024, there are ten records in New Hampshire (Table 1).  

 

Another unidentified Myiarchus flycatcher seen in Rochester on November 13, 2008, was also likely an Ash-throated Flycatcher given the late date; however, it’s possible it could have been a very late Great Crested Flycatcher, which are even more unusual past early October. 

The three or four fall/winter 2023-2024 sightings in New Hampshire were part of a larger scale incursion of this species into the eastern United States that season. Approximately 13 individuals were reported throughout New England including Vermont’s first state record.

For unknown reasons, Ash-throated Flycatchers, like some other species of vagrant flycatchers from the south and west, often appear very late in the fall season, when they feed on fruit to survive the cold days and nights. In fact, regionally, they are extremely rare in any month other than October through January (Figure 1). 

Figure 1. Total Ash-throated Flycatcher reports by month in New England. Totals are approximate and some reports appear in multiple months. Data reflects totals as of 4-1-2024. Source: eBird, www.ebird.org.

The tolerance of this species to cold weather, however, may be overcome by a winter snowstorm. The Ash-throated Flycatcher on January 6, 2024, at the Hampton Wastewater Treatment Plant was seen foraging around the buildings late in the afternoon just as the snow was starting to fly, but it was not reported again after the snowstorm continued through the night and into the following day leaving behind 15 inches of snow in Hampton! 

Data Sources and References 

Cardiff, S and D. Dittmann. 2020. Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.astfly.01 

eBird. 2024. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. http://www.ebird.org. (accessed: April 2024). 

Keith, A. and R. Fox. 2013. The Birds of New Hampshire. The Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA. 

Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Second Edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 

Veit, R. and W. Petersen. 1993. Birds of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Audubon Society, Lincoln, MA.  Vickery, P. 2020. Birds of Maine. Princeton University Press & The Nuttall Ornithological Club, Cambridge, MA.