Fork-tailed Flycatcher

Status Three records. The first was seen in Dartmouth on 26 September 1970 by Ian McLaren, later that day joined by Eric Mills and Willett J. Mills. Photographs by Eric Mills were sent to the National Museum, where W. Earl Godfrey confirmed the identification. The second was on Seal Island from 24 to 26 August 1976, seen by the McLaren family and photographed by Ian McLaren. The third was photographed on Cape Breton Island on 25 June 1984 by John Peebles of Richmond, Virginia.

Remarks The Fork-tailed Flycatcher is a species whose appearance makes it self-identifying. It is a South American native and, although the Dartmouth bird was a first Canadian record, the species has strayed surprisingly often to North America, with about 40 occurrences up to 1980, mostly in the northeastern United States.