Buff-breasted Flycatcher

Empidonax fulvifronsOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Flycatchers (Tyrannidae)

Codes: Common Name: BBFL Scientific Name: EMPFUL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 178352

Breeding Location:

Montane and foothill woodlands

Breeding Type:

Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Very restricted range in SW U.S.

Egg Color:

Creamy white

Number of Eggs:

3 - 5

Incubation Days:

14 - 16

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Bits of leaves and small roots held together with spiderwebs.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Smallest Empidonax flycatcher; fresh adult has gray-brown upperparts and paler underparts washed with yellow and cinnamon. White eyering is distinct; two wingbars are white. Worn adult (summer) is duller overall. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is brighter, has buff instead of white wingbars, and appears more orange on breast and sides.

Range and Habitat

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Found in open pine-oak woodlands in the mountains of southeastern Arizona, rarely found in extreme southwestern New Mexico.

Breeding and Nesting

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Three to five creamy white eggs laid in cup nest made of spiderwebs and bits of plant material located about 20 feet high against trunk of trees. Female incubates for 14-16 days. Both parents feed young until they leave the nest at 15-17 days old.

Foraging and Feeding

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Sits on exposed branches and stems, darting out in short flights to catch flying insects. May occasionally drop to ground to grab insect.

Vocalization

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Soft "pit" call. Song is "chee-lick" or "chee-lick-chou."

Similar Species

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: The larger Cordilleran Flycatcher lacks the brown tones and has more olive-green color. Also has a yellow belly.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Buff-breasted Flycatcher

Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Smallest Empidonax flycatcher; fresh adult has gray-brown upperparts and pale underparts washed with yellow and cinnamon. White eyering is distinct; two wingbars are white. Short bill with black upper mandible and yellow to pink lower mandible. Legs and feet are gray-black.

● Song: "pit", "chee-lick", "chee-lick-chou"

● Foraging & Feeding: Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Sits on exposed branches and stems, darting out in short flights to catch flying insects. May occasionally drop to ground to grab insect.

● Breeding & nesting: Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Three to five creamy white eggs laid in cup nest made of spiderwebs and bits of plant material located about 20 feet high against trunk of trees. Female incubates for 14-16 days. Both parents feed young until they leave the nest at 15-17 days old.

● Similar species: Buff-breasted Flycatcher: The larger Cordilleran Flycatcher lacks the brown tones and has more olive-green color. Also has a yellow belly.

Flight Pattern

Short repeated flights from exposed branches to catch flying insects.

Buff-breasted Flycatcher Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Buff-breasted Flycatcher: Found in open pine-oak woodlands in the mountains of southeastern Arizona, rarely found in extreme southwestern New Mexico.

^BreedingSolitary nester

^PopulationVery restricted range in SW U.S.

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight0.3 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America