The ash-throated flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens) is a passerine bird in the tyrant flycatcher family. Taxonomy First described in 1851 by George Newbold Lawrence from a specimen collected in western Texas in the United States, the ash-throated flycatcher was initially given the scientific name Tyrannula cinerascens. The species was mistakenly described again in 1851 as Tyrannula mexicanus — an error that was corrected in 1859 when Philip Lutley Sclater analyzed the tyrant flycatchers known from Mexico and realized that both scientific names referred to the same species. During the same analysis, Slater moved the ash-throated flycatcher from the genus Tyrannula to its current genus, Myiarchus. In the past, the ash-throated flycatcher has sometimes been considered to be conspecific with Nutting's flycatcher, but there are morphological and vocal differences between the two. There is disagreement as to whether the two species hybridize. The ash-throated flycatcher has two recognized subspecies: M. c. cinerascens, the nominate subspecies described by Lawrence in 1851, breeds from the western US down into southern and central Mexico and winters from the southern US to Honduras, principally on the Pacific slope. M. c. pertinax, described by Spencer Fullerton Baird in 1860, is restricted to Mexico's Baja California. The genus name Myiarchus is a compound word created from the Greek words muia (μυια), meaning "fly" and arkos (αρχος) meaning "ruler" or "chief". The species epithet cinerascens is a Latin word meaning "ashen". Description The ash-throated flycatcher is a medium-sized tyrant flycatcher, measuring in length with a wingspan of and a mass of . Overall, it is slim and long-tailed, with a slightly peaked crest on its relatively large head. The upperparts are olive brown, with a darker head and short crest. The breast is gray and the belly is a very pale yellow. The brown tail feathers and wings have rufous outer webs, and there are two dull wing bars. The sexes are similar. Distribution and habitat It breeds in desert scrub, riparian forest, brushy pastures and open woodland from the western United States to central Mexico. It is a short-distance migrant, retreating from most of the U.S. and northern and central Mexico, spending the winter from southern Mexico to Honduras. This bird is also prone to wander, with single birds often seen outside its normal breeding range as far away as the east coast of North America. Behavior Feeding This species is primarily an insectivore that flies from a