The Tufted Flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus) is a very rare vagrant to the United States, the first record being from Big Bend National Park, Texas in November 1991. It was the first time the species had been recorded in the United States. It normally inhabits mountain forests and woodlands in Mexico and occurs as far south as Bolivia. It is a small flycatcher, 4.7 inches long, with a spiky crest.

The female builds her saucer shaped nest of moss, liverworts and lichens high on a branch or vine, generally hidden among ferns, bromeliads and other epiphytes. The female lays two brown-blotched white eggs and incubates them for 15–16 days.

This little flycatcher has olive-green upperparts, including the crest. The tail and wings are blackish. The wings have two buff wing bars. The breast is yellow-ochre. The sexes are similar. Juveniles have brownish upperparts with buff fringing, orange wing bars and paler underparts.

These birds travel in pairs, hunting flying insects from an open perch. It often returns to the same perch, a typical flycatcher behavior.

Order: Passeriformes | Family: Tyrannidae

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