Western Wood-Pewee Gallery

Contopus sordidulus

eBird gives this description of the Western Wood-Pewee:  Drab grayish flycatcher found in forested areas and edges. Usually seen on a high perch as it watches for prey, then sallies out to snatch insects. After these short flights, it often (but not always) returns to the same perch. Nondescript plumage with dull wingbars. Note the song, which is a buzzy, descending “BREeerr.” Looks nearly identical to Eastern Wood-Pewee.  All About Birds provides the following additional descriptive information about the Western Wood-Pewee:  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.

I saw my first Western Wood-Pewees at several locations in the Christmas Mountains Oasis on August 31, 2020.  I saw my first one near the water drip, and then a couple more perched at other locations in the Oasis. 

Western Wood-Pewee at Christmas Mountains Oasis, August 31, 2020.
Another shot of the Western Wood-Pewee at CMO on August 31, 2020.
Final shot of a Western Wood-Pewee at CMO on August 31, 2020.


“Cool Facts” about the Western Wood-Pewee from All About Birds…

  • The breeding ranges of the nearly identical Eastern and Western Wood-Pewees overlap only in a very narrow zone in the Great Plains. Despite the birds’ physical similarity, no evidence has ever been found that the two species interbreed in that area—perhaps because their songs sound so different.
  • Where exactly the Western Wood-Pewee goes in the winter is still a mystery. Both Eastern and Western Wood-Pewees migrate to northern South America, but because they look so similar and they don’t call much on the wintering ground it’s hard to say for certain where each species spends its winter.
  • The scientific name of the Western Wood-Pewee is Contopus sordidulus. Contopus comes from the Greek word kontos which means short and pous which means foot—referring to the relatively short legs on Contopus flycatchers. Sordidulus means dirty or unkempt, a reference to the dusky brown wash to the breast and flanks.
  • The Western Wood-Pewee makes a clapping noise with its bill while chasing and attacking intruders in nest defense.
  • The oldest recorded Western Wood-Pewee was a female, and at least 8 years, 1 month old when she was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 2002. She had been banded in the same state in 1995.