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Western Wood-Pewee

ID Info
  • Western Wood-Pewee
  • Western Wood-Pewee
  • Western Wood-Pewee  video
Silhouette FlycatchersFlycatchers
Western Wood-PeweeContopus sordidulus
  • ORDER: Passeriformes
  • FAMILY: Tyrannidae

Basic Description

Open woodlands throughout the West come alive when Western Wood-Pewees return for the summer. These grayish brown flycatchers use exposed branches as their stage; they put on quite a good show, sallying back and forth while nabbing flying insects with stunning precision. They sit tall when perched, showing off their partially buttoned gray vest while singing a burry and nasal version of their name all summer long. They look nearly identical to their eastern cousin, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, but they sing a burrier song.

More ID Info
image of range map for Western Wood-Pewee
Year-roundBreedingMigrationNonbreeding
Range map provided by Birds of the World
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Find This Bird

A quick listen in almost any forest patch should reveal the burry, slightly descending peeer of a Western Wood-Pewee throughout the spring and summer months. To find out where the song is coming from, look up into the canopy and pay special attention to bare branches where this small, upright flycatcher often perches. Unless they’re silhouetted against the sky, their gray bodies tend to blend into the branches. Watch for one to sally out and back on a quick flight to chase down an insect. Use its habit of returning to the same perch to your advantage to focus in on the Western Wood-Pewee as it returns to its perch.

Other Names

  • Pibí Occidental (Spanish)
  • Pioui de l'Ouest (French)

Backyard Tips

Like other flycatchers, pewees usually don’t come to feeders. They may visit wooded backyards or property adjacent to patches of forests or woodlands.

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