I don’t even know how to begin talking about this bird! Even a non-birder would probably notice and remark on the long tail feathers of this fairly common, summertime bird. I spotted this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) while visiting Camp El Tesoro in Granbury, Texas.

This is a close-up of the first picture. The object that she/he is holding is a small snail shell. This is so interesting because Scissor-tailed Flycatchers normally eat insects and only rarely eat fruit. I could not find any information about them eating snails! I am pretty sure that she/he swallowed this snail whole, and I am wondering if this has more to do with mineral needs than anything else. I have read that female birds in general have higher calcium requirements during breeding season since calcium is required for the eggs they lay. So, I will tentatively suggest that perhaps this scissor-tail is a female taking her calcium supplement for the day

This is the same bird, before it flew down to the stream to eat the snail. The salmon color under it’s wing may suggest that this is a male, but the intensity of the salmon color is relative. So I still don’t know if this is a male or female…but I know it is an awesome bird!

I just love this pose…I’ve seen other birds hamming it up in a similar way. You gotta love ‘em!