Cordilleran Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Cordilleran Flycatcher, Empidonax occidentalis, is a small insect-eating bird
. It is a small Empidonax
flycatcher
, with typical length ranging from 13 to 17 cm.
Adults have olive-gray upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with yellowish underparts; they have a conspicuous teardrop-shaped white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. Many species
of this genus
look closely alike. The best ways to distinguish species are by voice, by breeding habitat, and by range. This bird is virtually identical to the Pacific-slope Flycatcher
. These two species were formerly considered a single species known as Western Flycatcher. The Pacific-slope is a breeding bird of the Pacific Coast forests and mountain ranges from California
to Alaska
; the Cordilleran is a breeding bird of the Rocky Mountains
. They have different songs and calls.
Cordilleran Flycatchers' preferred breeding habitat is pine
-oak
or coniferous forest, usually near running water. They make a cup nest on a fork in a tree, usually low in a horizontal branch. Females usually lay 2–5 eggs.
These birds migrate
to Mexico
for the winter, where the Mexican central-southern birds are resident. The non-resident birds are on the western coast from Jalisco
northwards, and then to inland regions, in a corridor strip
on the western flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental
.
The Cordilleran Flycatcher waits on an open perch of a shrub or low branch of a tree and flies out to catch insects in flight (hawking
), and also sometimes picks insects from foliage while hovering (gleaning
).
The song includes notes represented as pseet, ptsick, seet usually sung rapidly together. The ptsick or ptik note has the first syllable higher-pitched than the second—the only difference from the Pacific-slope Flycatcher's song (Sibley 2000). The male's typical position call is a loud and distinctive pit pete or tse-seet, but some give a "rising tsweep" or a "slurred tseeweep, like the calls of Pacific-slope Flycatchers (Sibley 2000).
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. It is a small Empidonax
Empidonax
The genus Empidonax is a group of small insect-eating passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family, the Tyrannidae.Most of these birds are remarkably similar in plumage: olive on the upper parts with light underparts, eye rings and wing bars...
flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...
, with typical length ranging from 13 to 17 cm.
Adults have olive-gray upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with yellowish underparts; they have a conspicuous teardrop-shaped white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. Many species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of this genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
look closely alike. The best ways to distinguish species are by voice, by breeding habitat, and by range. This bird is virtually identical to the Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
The Pacific-slope Flycatcher is a small insectivorous bird of the family Tyrannidae. It is native to coastal regions of western North America, including the Pacific Ocean and the southern Sea of Cortez, as far north as British Columbia and southern Alaska, but is replaced in the inland regions by...
. These two species were formerly considered a single species known as Western Flycatcher. The Pacific-slope is a breeding bird of the Pacific Coast forests and mountain ranges from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
; the Cordilleran is a breeding bird of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
. They have different songs and calls.
Cordilleran Flycatchers' preferred breeding habitat is pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
-oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
or coniferous forest, usually near running water. They make a cup nest on a fork in a tree, usually low in a horizontal branch. Females usually lay 2–5 eggs.
These birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
for the winter, where the Mexican central-southern birds are resident. The non-resident birds are on the western coast from Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
northwards, and then to inland regions, in a corridor strip
Wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities . This allows an exchange of individuals between populations, which may help prevent the negative effects of inbreeding and reduced genetic diversity that often occur within...
on the western flank of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...
.
The Cordilleran Flycatcher waits on an open perch of a shrub or low branch of a tree and flies out to catch insects in flight (hawking
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
), and also sometimes picks insects from foliage while hovering (gleaning
Gleaning (birds)
Gleaning is a term for a feeding strategy by birds in which they catch invertebrate prey, mainly arthropods, by plucking them from foliage or the ground, from crevices such as rock faces and under the eaves of houses, or even, as in the case of ticks and lice, from living animals. This behavior is...
).
The song includes notes represented as pseet, ptsick, seet usually sung rapidly together. The ptsick or ptik note has the first syllable higher-pitched than the second—the only difference from the Pacific-slope Flycatcher's song (Sibley 2000). The male's typical position call is a loud and distinctive pit pete or tse-seet, but some give a "rising tsweep" or a "slurred tseeweep, like the calls of Pacific-slope Flycatchers (Sibley 2000).
External links
- Cordilleran Flycatcher videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Cordilleran Flycatcher photo gallery VIREO Photo-High Res
- Photo; Article fwp.mt.gov (Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks)
- Cordilleran Flycatcher Information and Photos South Dakota Birds and Birding