Galapagos Species Checklist

Pyrocephalus dubius Gould, 1839

Pájaro Brujo de San Cristóbal, San Cristobal Vermilion Flycatcher, Least Vermilion Flycatcher

Similar to Little Vermilion Flycatcher, but smaller with shorter wings and tail.

Last sighting in 2016 (supposedly on a private farm), intense searches between 2015-2021 did not find individuals.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Aves

Order
Passeriformes

Family
Tyrannidae

Genus
Pyrocephalus

Species
dubius

Taxon category: Accepted

G. Jimenez-Uzcategui: "The taxonomy of this species has been very confusing: Ridgway (1896) mentions five “species” (considered even by most other authors of the time as subspecies): nanus, dubius, intercedens, carolensis, and abingdoni (the latter three of which he himself described). Two subspecies were recognized: P. r. nanus (Gould 1841), occurring on most islands, and P. r. dubius (Gould 1841), from San Cristóbal. Salvin (1876), but, suggested that specimens of P. r. dubius were instead juvenile males of P. r. nanus (Wiedenfeld 2006). However, the last study mitochondrial and nuclear genetic, data, morphology, and behavior suggest that Galápagos forms should be elevated to two full species: P. nanus Gould, 1838 (Galápagos Vermilion Flycatcher) and P. dubius Gould, 1839 (San Cristóbal Vermilion Flycatcher) (Carmi, etal. In press.)".

Taxon origin: Endemic

Status

Extinct

Distribution

Distribution: San Cristóbal Island.

References

  • Wiedenfeld, D.A. (2006) Aves, the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Check List 2006 2(2): 1-27.
  • Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G. Milstead, B., Márquez, C., Zabala, J., Buitrón, P., Llerena, A., et al. (2007) Galapagos vertebrates: endangered status and conservation actions. Galapagos Report 2006–2007. Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, p. 104–110.
  • Harris, M.P. (1973) The Galápagos avifauna. Condor 75(3): 265-278.
  • Gifford, E.W. (1913) The birds of the Galápagos Islands, with observations on the birds of Cocos and Clipperton Islands (Columbiformes to Pelicaniformes). Expedition of the California Academy of Science, 1905 -1906. Part VIII. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, ser. 4, 2(1): 1-132.
  • Salvin, O. (1876) On the avifauna of the Galápagos Archipelago. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 9: 447-510.
  • Sundevall, C.J. (1871) On birds from the Galápagos Islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1871: 124-129.
  • Swarth, H.S. (1931) The Avifauna of the Galapagos Islands. Occ. Pap. Calif. Acad. Sci. 18: 1-299.
  • De Benedictis, P. (1966) The flight song display of two taxa of Vermilion Flycatcher, genus Pyrocephalus. The Condor 68:306-307.
  • Carmi, O. Witt, C.C., Jaramillo, A., Dumbachera, J.P. (In press.) Phylogeography of the Vermilion Flycatcher species complex: Multiple speciation events, shifts in migratory behavior, and an apparent extinction of a Galápagos-endemic bird species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 102:152-173.
  • Freile, J.F. Santander, T., Jiménez-Uzcátegui, G., Carrasco, L., Cisneros-Heredia, D., Guevara, E., Sánchez-Nivicela, M., Tinoco, B. (2019) Lista Roja de las aves del Ecuador Quito, Ecuador. 97 pp.

Support our work in the Galapagos

Our work is only possible thanks to our generous donors' support.
Your gift contributes directly to our scientists' work at the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Help us protect Galapagos!
Donations in the US are tax deductible.

Sign up to the latest news

* required

Sign up to the latest news

* required

The ‘Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands’, in French ‘Fondation Charles Darwin pour les îles Galapagos”, Association internationale sans but lucratif (AISBL), has its registered office at 54 Avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. Trade Registry # 0409.359.103

© 2023 Charles Darwin Foundation. All rights reserved.