Flycatcher Cheat Sheet

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Willow

Least

Hammond's

Dusky

Gray

Cordilleran

Western Wood-Pewee

Song

sneezy:

FITZ-bew

insistent repeated: che-BEK

rapid, rough: chipit...brrk...

grrrip

less rapid: chrip...grreep...

pweet

irregular: chuwip...

teeah...chuwip

high pitched: reeceeet, repeated pee-pee-da-wee
Call whit whit peep whit whit tseeyeap or tseet decending trreeaaar
Bill Shape wide intermediate narrow and short narrow, intermediate length narrow, long wide intermediate width
Lower Mandible Color pale 90%, dark tip pale 80%, dusky tip mostly dark to 50-50% pale (50%) fading to dark tip pale 80%, dark contrasting tip pale 90%, dark tip 50% pale, dark tip
Eye-ring mostly absent conspicuous, bold, white, slightly ("almond") conspicuous, narrow, white, round fairly conspicuous, narrow white not strongly contrasted, narrow, round conspicuous bold, elongated towards back ("teardrop") absent
Primary Extension long moderate to short long fairly short short short very long
Overall Shape large head, medium tail, big bird large head, short tail, small bird large head, short tail, small bird small head, long tail, medium bird small head, very long tail, big bird large head, short tail, chunky bird slightly crested head, long wings, short legs
Throat white off-white gray pale gray grayish white yellow dusky vest
Back olive brown washed with brown to olive olive-gray olive-gray pale gray to olive-gray olive-green gray
Wing Bars buff to white, wide; moderate contrast buff to white, wide; sharp contrast white, narrow; moderate contrast white, narrow; moderate contrast grayish, narrow; little contrast buff or grayish, intermediate width; moderate contrast buff or grayish, narrow; little contrast
Tail Movement occasional and abrupt, up often and abrupt, up often and abrupt, up seldom and casual, up occasional and floppy, down often and abrupt, up nearly none
Habitat willow riparian aspen, cottonwood high elevation conifers pinyon-juniper and mountain chaparral sagebrush and pinyon-juniper riparian, mixed and conifer forest riparian, mixed and conifer forest

Author: Frank Howe, UDWR. Web adaptation: Jim Bailey, Copyright 2004

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