A small olive-green flycatcher of western mountains. Recently separated from Pacific-slope flycatcher.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The western flycatcher is a small insectivorous bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is native to western North America, where it breeds in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast forests and mountain ranges from California to Alaska and south to central Mexico; northern populations migrate south to Mexico for the winter.
Source: Wikipedia — Western flycatcher Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Small olive flycatcher with a bold teardrop-shaped (almond) eye ring, yellowish underparts, two pale wing bars, and a peaked head. Nearly identical in appearance to Pacific-slope Flycatcher.
Similar species. Pacific-slope Flycatcher is essentially identical and best separated by range and the male's position note; Western Flycatcher complex is notoriously hard.
Voice. Male's position note is a two-parted 'pit-PEET' (the two parts more separated than Pacific-slope's).
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Flying insects caught on the wing.
Behavior. A small 'Empidonax' flycatcher of cool, shaded mountain canyons and conifer forest in the interior West; sallies for insects in the understory near water.
§ Range
Western mountains
§ Habitat
Mountain forests
§ Threats
Forest loss.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the cordilleran flycatcher is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support western mountain forest conservation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Western flycatcher
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Empidonax occidentalis
- IUCN Red List — search for Empidonax occidentalis
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Empidonax occidentalis
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
