- Empidonax hammondii
Identification
Photo taken: Malibu Creek State Park, California
Description
5-5 1/2" (13-14 cm). Olive-gray above; light throat, gray breast, pale yellow belly. Conspicuous white eye ring and white wing bars. Throat not as white as Alder Flycatcher's, breast darker and bill narrower and shorter than Dusky Flycatcher's, but field identification is very difficult. Flicks wings and tail more vigorously than other similar species.
Voice
Song is seweep-tsurp-seep, the last part rising. Calls are a high peep (like the note of a Pygmy Nuthatch) and a soft wit.
Habitat
Mature coniferous forests at high altitudes.
Nesting
3 or 4 white eggs, occasionally spotted, in a well-built cup nest saddled on a branch 15-60' (4.5-18 m) high in a coniferous tree.
Range
Breeds from eastern Alaska south to northern California and northern New Mexico. Winters in tropics, rarely in Arizona.
