Yellowish Flycatcher
Empidonax flavescens
Small greenish and yellowish flycatcher of humid highland forests. Usually found singly, at all levels inside the forest and at edges, sallying for insects. When perched, often flicks tail upwards. Note the peaked crest, teardrop-shaped eyering, overall plumage coloration, and very high-pitched call and song phrases. Range does not overlap with very similar Pacific-slope and Cordilleran Flycatchers, but compare with migrant Yellow-bellied Flycatcher that occurs mainly in lowlands and has a distinctly different call).
Identification
The yellowish flycatcher is 12.5 cm (4.9 in) long and weighs 12 g (0.42 oz). Its upper parts are olive-green and the underparts are yellow with an ochre tint to the breast. The wings are blackish with two buff wing bars. It has a white eye ring broadening into a small triangle behind the eye. Sexes are similar, but young birds are browner above and paler yellow below. The call is a thin seeep and the dawn song is a rapid repeated seee seee chit.<p>This species needs to be distinguished from migratory Empidonax species, since several species, including willow, alder and Acadian flycatchers pass through in the autumn. It has a more prominent eye ring than any migrant species, and despite that species’ name, is yellower below than yellow-bellied flycatcher.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Empidonax flavescens
- Authority
- Lawrence, 1865
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Empidonax
Range and habitat
This species is found in cool mountain forest, especially at the edges, in clearings, along roadsides and near streams, and in second growth and bushy pastures. It breeds from 800 m (2,600 ft) to nearly 2,500 m (8,200 ft) altitude.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The deep cup nest is made of plant fibre and mosses, and placed 2–4.5 m (6.6–14.8 ft) high in a crevice in a tree trunk or earth bank. Nests are often in moss near streams. The typical clutch is two or three white eggs, marked with pale rufous speckles. Incubation by the female is 14–15 days to hatching, with another 17 days to fledging. They accept the eggs of brood parasites, and are therefore occasionally hosts of the bronzed cowbird. Yellowish flycatchers are active birds, usually seen alone when not breeding.<p>They eat insects, spiders and some small berries. Nestlings are fed exclusively insects, especially spiders. The prey is gleaned from the foliage, taken in flight in short sallies, or sometimes picked from the ground.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Dusky Tetraka
Crossleyia tenebrosa
Extremely rare and enigmatic tetraka. Dark olive-green overall, with a pale yellowish throat and ring around the eye. Chunky and short-tailed. Madagascar endemic that is known from a handful of sites in the northeastern rainforest at middle and low elevations. Inhabits the ground and understory and acts much like Yellow-browed Oxylabes, but lacks that species’ bold eyebrow. Shorter-tailed than Spectacled Tetraka, with a duller eye-ring. Call is a very high, thin “seet” given singly or in a quick series.
Hook-billed Kite
Chondrohierax uncinatus
Widespread raptor of tropical America, occasionally reaching as far north as southern Texas. It can be identified in all plumages by its fiercely hooked bill and yellow or orange spots on face and bill. In flight, note the blunt, bulbous wings, strongly barred flight feathers, and broad tail bands. Male is mostly gray with faint white or tan barring on the underparts. Female has a brown collar and brown and white barred underparts; the pattern and color vary somewhat throughout its range. Juvenile is mostly white below with very sparse barring. Common call is a quick, shrill cackle. Inhabits both dry and humid forest at all but the highest elevations, and often seen soaring with other raptors or vultures.
White-throated Hawk
Buteo albigula
Locally fairly common summer breeder in temperate rainforests of southern Chile and adjacent Argentina; migrates north in March–April to winter in Andes from Bolivia to Venezuela, returning in September–October. Usually seen in flight over forest and edge, circling high or kiting motionless in the wind; rarely seen perched. Note dark head and clean white throat, diagnostic dark “armpits,” and rather flat-winged gliding with wingtips curled up slightly. Compare with immatures of the larger Variable and Rufous-tailed Hawks.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.