Acadian Flycatcher

Empidonax virescens
Flycatcher family (Tyrannidae)

Medium-sized flycatcher, 5” long. Greenish back, white throat, pale yellow breast and belly, buffy wing bars contrast with dark wings.

Habitat:
Mature deciduous forests, often near ravines or narrow streams.

Nesting:
Small saucer-like cup suspended between two forks of a branch, usually at the very end of a long branch, about 10 to 20 feet above the ground. Often near a ravine or narrow stream. Long plant fibers usually hang off nest like streamers. Eggs are whitish with brown markings. Clutch size – 3 eggs.

Voice:

Song is an emphatic two-syllable “peet-suh”.  Call is a soft “peet” or “pssst”.  Female calls almost non-stop while foraging away from the nest.

Name Origin:

Empidonax:  empis, Greek for “gnat”; anax, Greek for “king”; literally “king of the gnats”; virescens, Latin for “greenish”   “Acadian” is old French name for Nova Scotia, implying a northern breeding range, which is inappropriate but may be due to the fact that early ornithologists were confused in trying to differentiate several species of flycatchers that look alike.

In the Nature Park:
Neotropical migrant, arrives by mid-May, starts to nest by early June. One of the most abundant birds in the deep woods of the Nature Park. Acadian Flycatcher nests in the Nature Park are sometimes parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds.

More Information:

Click on these links for more information on the Acadian Flycatcher from the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center:

• Identification and life history characteristics of the Acadian Flycatcher
• Distribution map of the Acadian Flycatcher
• Population trends of the Acadian Flycatcher throughout North America

Photos: