Ochraceous Pewee

Contopus ochraceus

eBird gives this description for the Ochraceous Pewee:  This rare flycatcher is restricted to the highlands of Costa Rica and western Panama from around 2,200–3,000 m. It is tawny-colored overall, paler yellow on the belly, with two brownish wingbars, an orange lower mandible, and a peaked crest. Very similar to Tufted Flycatcher, but larger and longer-billed. Perches conspicuously on exposed snags at the edge of montane forests. Listen for its piercing “pee-pit!” song and pip calls.

The Birds of the World website introduces the Ochraceous Pewee with this descriptive information:  Endemic to southern Central America, where it occurs in the highlands of Costa Rica and westernmost Panama, although the Ochraceous Pewee is very rare in the latter country. Its altitudinal range spans 1200 to 3000 m, and the species inhabits montane oak forests and mature second growth, especially near streams and gaps. The combination of brownish crest, ochre breast, and ochre-colored wing bars is very distinctive, and should immediately distinguish the Ochraceous Pewee both from other Contopus and other tyrant flycatchers. This pewee’s behavior is very much like that of other Contopus, including its habit of sallying forth for flying insects and returning to the same perch, ‘shivering’ its tail on re-alighting.

I met and photographed this bird on the morning of February 8, 2023, while hiking a trail above the end of the 4X4 jeep road at Savegre Hotel, Costa Rica.  Our guide was quite excited to see this rare bird, and I shared his excitement when he explained how rare it was.   Low light conditions under the canopy prevented me from getting a sharp photo, but what I was able to get was good enough for identification purposes.