Least Flycatcher - Empidonax minimus
Least Flycatcher - Least Flycatcher
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5B
Agency Status
USFWS:
none
USFS:
none
BLM:
none
CFWCS Tier:
3
PIF:
3
General Description
A 13-cm-long bird with a relatively large head, gray (sometimes olive-tinged) dorsum (browner in juveniles), bold white eye ring, two white wing bars (buffy in juveniles), whitish throat, gray-washed breast, yellowish belly and undertail coverts (whitish in juveniles), and a short, flattened triangular bill (lower mandible mostly pale). See Whitney and Kaufmann (1985) for further details on identification. Song is a dry che-bek, accented on the second syllable (NGS 1983).
Distribution
Montana Range
Habitat
Semi-open, second-growth, and mature deciduous and mixed woods; occasionally conifer groves, burns, swamp and bog edges, orchards, and shrubby fields. Often found near open spaces such as forest clearings and edges, water, roads, and cottage clearings. (Peck and James 1983).
Food Habits
Feeds almost exclusively on insects caught by hawking from the air or gleaned from foliage of trees and shrubs. Fruits and seeds taken occasionally. (Briskie 1994).
Reproductive Characteristics
Nest is a neat compact cup, generally not protected or only partially protected by surrounding vegetation. Eggs are ovate. Unmarked, yellowish-white or creamy white, but not glossy. Clutch size ranges 3-5; most often 4 eggs. (Briskie 1994). Least Flycatchers nest in June.