Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Empidonax flaviventris

Migratory Status: Neotropical migrant

PIF Population Estimate: 6 200 000

Percent of western hemisphere population breeding in boreal forest: 87%

BAM Effective Detection Radius (m) : 70.09

PIF Maximum Detection Distance (m) : 125

Canadian BBS Population trend: 1.5 n.s. (-0.5 to 3.5)

Life History

The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is synonymous with the coniferous forests and peat-lands that typify the boreal forests of North America. As such this species has one of the highest breeding percentages of its population throughout the boreal region. Given its preference for these remote and inaccessible habitats, much of the natural history of this species remains unknown or poorly understood, and few dedicated studies have been conducted.

Although similar in size and shape to most other North American Empidonax flycatchers, as its name implies, the Yellow-bellied has a distinct yellowish belly, neck, and eye-ring, which is unique to this species. It also has a rather distinct song, often described as a less abrupt “cha-leck”, compared to the somewhat harsh and snappy “che-beck” of the similar, Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus).

The breeding range extends from east-central Alaska, east across Canada to Newfoundland, and south to northeastern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Isolated breeding populations exist in the Adirondack and northern Appalachian Mountains of the northeastern United States. Wintering populations occur from central Mexico, south to western Panama.

As with most flycatchers, the diet consists largely of insects and arthropods, which are generally caught while in flight, or rarely, taken directly from foliage. The species has also occasionally been observed taking fruit, although this is often on migration or during winter, when food availability or accessibility is more limited.

Reference(s)

Gross, D. A., and P. E. Lowther. 2001. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris), The Birds of North America Online, . A. Poole, Ed. Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/566