Empidonax wrightii
The American Grey Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii) is a small, subtle passerine, measuring approximately 13-15 cm in length with a wingspan of 21-23 cm and weighing around 9-11 grams. Its plumage is a muted olive-grey above and off-white below, often washed with pale yellow on the flanks, making it a classic "Empid" challenge for birders. Distinctive field marks include a bold, whitish eye-ring, two faint wing-bars, and a relatively long tail that it frequently flicks downwards, a crucial iden...
Primarily found in open, relatively dry montane forests, often dominated by Pinyon-Juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine, or mixed conifer stands. Breeds at elevations typically between 1,500 and 3,000 meters in the American West.
Exclusively insectivorous, feeding primarily on flying insects such as flies, wasps, bees, beetles, and small moths, captured through aerial sallying from a perch.
American Grey Flycatchers are diurnal insectivores, typically perching upright on exposed branches within their territories, often at mid-canopy level, for extended periods. Their foraging strategy primarily involves "sallying," where they dart out from a perch to snatch flying insects in mid-air...
The American Grey Flycatcher breeds extensively across western North America, from south-central British Columbia, eastern Washington, Oregon, and California eastward through much of the Great Basin, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, and western Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Its core breeding grounds are fo...
Least Concern
- The American Grey Flycatcher is renowned as one of North America's most challenging birds to identify, often grouped with other "Empidonax" species that look almost identical. - Its unique, diagnostic "tail-flick" behavior, a deliberate downward snap, is one of the most reliable field marks, of...