Acadian Flycatcher
Empidonax virescens
Small flycatcher with big peaked head and relatively long bill. Extremely similar to several other species, especially Alder and Willow Flycatchers. Greenish-olive above and pale whitish below. Note thin white eyering and very long wingtips. Best distinguished from other flycatchers by habitat and voice. Birds near the northern end of breeding range prefer shaded ravines with mix of hemlocks and deciduous trees; farther south, found in mature deciduous forests. Tends to stay high in the canopy. Song is an explosive “pwit-SIP!,” call note is a sharp “pweek!”
Identification
Adults have olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars and a wide bill. The breast is washed with olive. The upper part of the bill is dark; the lower part is yellowish. This bird's song is an explosive peet-sa. The call is a soft peet. They also have a call similar to that of the northern flicker.[citation needed] A unique two-note song described as "ka-zeep" helps to identify this species.<p>Measurements:
Taxonomy
The 15 species of this genus were once all thought to be a single species, which was discovered in Acadia in present-day Nova Scotia. Differences in range, voice, and habitat eventually identified them as separate species. The present-day "Acadian flycatcher" is not found in Acadia.
- Scientific name
- Empidonax virescens
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Tyrannidae
- Genus
- Empidonax
Range and habitat
Its breeding habitat is deciduous forests, often near water, across the eastern United States and southwestern Ontario. These birds migrate through eastern Mexico and the Caribbean to southern Central America and the very northwest of South America in Colombia, western Venezuela, and Ecuador.<p>The numbers of these birds have declined somewhat in the southern parts of their range. Brown-headed cowbirds lay eggs in the nests of these birds in some areas. However, only 16% of cowbird young in Acadian flycatcher nests fledge successfully.<p>They wait on a perch in the middle of a tree and fly out to catch insects in flight (hawking), also sometimes picking insects from foliage while hovering (gleaning). They may eat some berries and seeds.<p>They make a loose cup nest in a horizontal fork in a tree or shrub.<p>The Acadian flycatcher is an excellent flier; it is extremely maneuverable, can hover, and can even fly backward. Curiously, there is no scientific information on hopping or walking by this bird.<p>As of October 2015 there have been 2 records of Acadian flycatcher in Europe, the first being a bird found dead in Iceland in 1967, and the second a bird found on the beach at Dungeness in Kent, England in September 2015, the latter's identity being established by DNA from its droppings.
- Breeding range
- NA : c, e USA
- Non-breeding range
- Nicaragua to Venezuela and w Ecuador
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
African Dwarf Kingfisher
Ispidina lecontei
A tiny kingfisher found primarily in the understory of primary and secondary forests, where it often perches at head height or lower, hunting for insects. Distinctive, with an orange bill, head, and belly, a white throat, a dark forehead, and a dark blue back and wings. When seen well, it also shows a purple ear patch bordered with white below. Similar to African Pygmy Kingfisher, but African Dwarf Kingfisher always has an orange crown. Voice is a high-pitched squeaky call.
Blue-billed Malimbe
Malimbus nitens
A distinctive malimbe of lowland forests, particularly favoring lowland swamps with palms and areas near water, often in the understory. Overall glossy black with a triangular red throat patch and a pale gray-blue bill. Occurs in small groups or with mixed-species flocks, sometimes with other species of malimbe. The only malimbe with a combination of entirely dark upperparts, red throat, and black vent. Song includes whistled and mechanical notes with rasps, and calls include short rasping “rhewp” notes.
Bahama Nuthatch
Sitta insularis
Endemic to Grand Bahama Island, where it is the only nuthatch, though now extremely rare and possibly extinct. Active in crowns of pines and hard to see clearly. Small with a long, pointed bill. Also look for brown cap, gray upperparts, and creamy-whitish underparts. Listen for short sputtering trills and high-pitched squeaks.
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