Empidonax hammondii
The Hammond's Flycatcher (Empidonax hammondii) is a quintessential challenge for even seasoned birders, a small, compact member of the Empidonax genus often dubbed the 'Empidonax hell' due to its subtle visual identification marks. This diminutive songbird measures approximately 12.5-14.5 cm (5-5.7 in) in length, with a wingspan of 20-22 cm (7.9-8.7 in) and weighing a mere 8-12 g (0.28-0.42 oz). Its plumage is generally dull olive-gray to grayish-green above and pale, often yellowish-washed, ...
Breeds in mature coniferous or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests at mid to high elevations. Winters in humid pine-oak or evergreen forests, and forest edges, typically in montane regions.
Exclusively insectivorous, feeding primarily on small flying insects such as flies, wasps, beetles, and moths, as well as spiders. It forages by aerial hawking (flycatching) and gleaning from foliage.
Hammond's Flycatchers are diurnal and highly active insectivores, primarily employing a sally-strike foraging strategy where they perch conspicuously in the mid-to-upper canopy, darting out to catch flying insects in mid-air. They also frequently glean insects from foliage while hovering. Males e...
The Hammond's Flycatcher breeds across a broad expanse of western North America, extending from central Alaska and Yukon Territory, east to western Alberta and Montana, and south through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and the higher mountain ranges o...
Least Concern
- Its name honors William H. Hammond, a U.S. Army surgeon and naturalist who collected the first specimen in 1858. - Hammond's Flycatcher is notorious among birders as one of the most challenging Empidonax species to identify by sight alone. - Unlike some Empidonax species that prefer understory,...