English and Scientific names:	Brown-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus tyrannulus)
Number of individuals:	1 adult
Locality: LOUISIANA:	St. Martin Parish
Specific Locality:	Henderson Levee Rd. (outside St. Martin Land Company property), Henderson.
Date(s) when observed:	December 16, 2006
Time(s) of day when observed:	ca. 0800
Reporting observer and address:	James W. Beck Broussard, LA
Other observers accompanying reporter who also identified the bird(s):	Mike Musumeche, James Reitter
Other observers who independently identified the bird(s)
Light conditions (position of bird in relation to shade and to direction and amount of light):	bird was seen first in flight, coming over a levee, then landed in the top of an Acer rubrum, with the sun at our backs casting bright lighting conditions on the bird.
Optical equipment:	Swarovski 10x42 EL binoculars, Swarovski (power?) spotting scope
Distance to bird(s):	ca. 50 yards
Duration of observation:	ca. 3 minutes
Habitat:	hardwood bottomland surrounded by open sedge fields and scrub lines
Behavior of bird:	bird first seen flying in from the east, over the Henderson levee.  it then landed in an A. rubrum treetop, and was behaving excitedly; constantly looking around in sharp head movements and looking about its surroundings.  the bird made a few brief flights of no more than 2-3 meters at a time, sticking to the top 1/3 of the trees it visited.  at no point did the bird make an attempt to forage. it kept moving further down the treeline north until we lost sight of it. in changing positions in the trees, it both faced us and away from us.
Description:	larger Myiarchus flycatcher with bright lemon yellow belly, ending at mid-chest area, extending onto flanks and undertail coverts.  reddish noted in primaries, as well as retrices, the outer tail feathers appearing darker than the inner. undertail pattern was not well seen. bill was dark, heavy and long.  upper chest and throat was a light gray color, becoming darker behind the eye, where it became a brownish-gray on the crown. this color remained uniform from the forehead all the way down the back.
Voice:	n/a
Similar species:	1) Ash-throated was initially suspected, but the yellow underparts were too strong of a yellow, along with the longer and heavier looking bill.  the back of the bird also appeared to be darker than most Ash-throats I've seen. 2) Great Crested was eliminated first based on probability, then the throat and chest simply did not seem to be as dark a gray as Great cresteds usually have. 3) Dusky-capped, Nutting's & La Sagra's were not seriously considered in the first place, but this bird had a much heavier and longer bill, plus overall size was just too large.
Photographs or tape recordings obtained?	n/a
Previous experience with this species:	a few individuals in Plaquemines Parish in the mid-90's, also seen in Arizona, south Texas and Mexico.
Identification aids:	at time of observation:n/a after observation: National Geographic
This description is written from:	memory
Are you positive of your identification? If not, explain:	yes
Reporter:	James W. Beck
Date and time:	December 16, 2006 1725.