Acadian Flycatcher

Empidonax virescens

eBird provides this description of the Acadian Flycatcher:  Small flycatcher with big peaked head and relatively long bill. Extremely similar to several other species, especially Alder and Willow Flycatchers. Greenish-olive above and pale whitish below. Note thin white eyering and very long wingtips. Best distinguished from other flycatchers by habitat and voice. Birds near the northern end of breeding range prefer shaded ravines with mix of hemlocks and deciduous trees; farther south, found in mature deciduous forests. Tends to stay high in the canopy. Song is an explosive “pwit-SIP!,” call note is a sharp “pweek!”  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Acadian Flycatcher:  Of the dozen or more maddeningly similar species in the Empidonax genus, the cheery Acadian Flycatcher is the common one of mature forests of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. They perch on slender branches at middle heights to sing explosive ker-chip! songs, or to fly out to catch insects. They are relatively strongly marked among Empidonax species, with rich olive-green plumage, a neat eyering, bold wingbars, and a hefty, partly orange bill. Their affinity for relatively undisturbed forest makes them useful as an indicator of forest health.

I saw several of what I believe to be Acadian Flycatchers during my time at Boy Scout Woods on April 19, 2021.  While I find it extremely difficult to distinguish between a number of flycatcher species, Merlin consistently identified this bird as an Acadian, and all of the subtle identifying characteristics match.