Most flycatchers are drab and cryptic in coloration, but the Vermilion Flycatcher breaks all the rules. Found by Peter Metropulos, this species is a rarity in Northern California with only one previous San Mateo County record, a male photographed by Jason Thompson at Pescadero Marsh 26 October 2013. I judged this individual to be an immature male based on its patchy mix of red and orange plumage. Adult males are usually more solidly red. Carmi et al. (2016) recognize 12 subspecies in six groups. The Northern group consists of four races from the southwestern United States to Nicaragua. Other populations range through South America and the Galapagos. California birds are of the northern migratory race, P. r. flammeus characterized by paler gray mantle and more orange coloration as seen here. Digiscoped with Panasonic DMC-LX5 | Nikon FS 3 | 30XWA | hand-held, no adapter.
References:
Carmi, O., Witt, C.C., Jaramillo, A. & Dumbacher, J.P. (2016) Phylogeography of the Vermilion Flycatcher species complex: multiple speciation events, shifts in migratory behavior, and an apparent extinction of a Galápagos-endemic bird species. Mol. Phyl. & Evol. 102: 152-173. [PDF]
Ellison, Kevin, Blair O. Wolf and Stephanie L. Jones. (2009). Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/verfly
Farnsworth, A., Lebbin, D. & Sharpe, C.J. (2016). Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/57383 on 28 November 2016).