Gray Flycatcher Identification

The Four Keys to ID

• Size & Shape

  A slim, small flycatcher with a fairly long, narrow bill compared to other Empidonax. The wings are short, and the primary feathers do not extend far beyond the tertials (this is often called “short primary projection”). This also makes the tail look rather long.

  Relative Size

  Larger than a Yellow-rumped Warbler, slightly smaller than a Western Wood-Pewee.

  sparrow-sized or smaller

  Measurements

  • Both Sexes
  • • Length: 5.5-5.9 in (14-15 cm)
    • Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (11-14 g)
    • Wingspan: 8.7 in (22 cm)

• Color Pattern

  Grayish above, whitish below, with a thin, pale eyering. Darker wings and tail with two grayish wingbars. The bill is mostly pinkish or yellowish below, usually with a blackish tip.

• Behavior

  Watches for insects from a low perch and flies out to capture them in flight, on vegetation, or on the ground. Dips the tail regularly while perched.

• Habitat

  Nests in mature and old-growth sagebrush, and in foothills and mountains with open pine, juniper, cedar, fir, and oak woodlands with brushy undergrowth. Migrates through many habitats but often detected in stream corridors with willow or cottonwood. Winters in similar habitats and also arid thorn forest and scrub.