| Scientific Name |  Click photo to enlarge. Photo by Ron Austing. |
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| Empidonax virescens Vieillot - ATBI Database: Specimen Records | |||||
| Common Name | |||||
| Acadian Flycatcher | |||||
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | |
| Animalia | Chordata | Aves | Passeriformes | Tyrannidae | |
| Animals | Chordates | Birds | Perching Birds | Flycatchers | |
The Acadian Flycatcher is a relatively inconspicuous bird, often singing from a single perch with little movement. This species is a member of the empidonax genus of flycatchers which are all similar in appearance. The best way to distinguish the different members of this group is to listen for their songs which are distinctive. In the Smokies, the Acadian Flycatcher is by far the most common empidonax flycatcher, but observations of Least and Willow Flycatchers are possible as well.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
Length:12 - 14.6 cm.
Physical Characteristics: The upperparts are brownish to olive green; the underparts vary from whitish to yellowish, while the breast has an olive wash. The adults have white wing bars. The male and female are similar in color. The bill is wide with a black upper mandible and yellow or pinkish lower mandible. A white eye ring is present.
Voice: Song is a rapid peet-sah with an accent on the first syllable. Song recorded by John Sauer.
Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter: Acadian Flycatcher
DISTRIBUTION
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Breeding: The Acadian Flycatcher ranges from far southern New England, west through the Great Lakes region to Iowa, south to central Texas and the Gulf Coast to northern Florida. In Canada, it is found only in far southwestern Ontario. Click on the map on the left to see the breeding range as determined by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). |
| Map not available. | Winter: This species is a neotropical migrant so it winters in Central America and northern South America. |
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In Park: The Acadian Flycatcher is a very common breeding bird in the Park, inhabiting moist habitats at lower elevations. This species is especially common along rivers and streams and along the north and northwest border of the Park. The Acadian Flycatcher is absent in the winter months. A survey of breeding birds performed in the Park, from 1996-1999, ranked Acadian Flycatcher as the 18th most common species out of 113 species observed during the breeding season. |
 Click maps to enlarge. |
The location of observations during the survey indicate that overall Acadian Flycatcher density in the Park during the breeding season is approximately 0.16 pairs/hectare. Abundance declines with increasing elevation and individuals are rarely detected above 4,000 feet. Results of this survey also indicate that Acadian Flycatchers are positively associated with the presence of Eastern Hemlock trees. Hemlocks in the Smokies are currently under attack from a non-native insect species, the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, that has decimated hemlock populations in other parts of the eastern United States. |
NATURAL HISTORY
Breeding habitat
This bird often nests in heavy, mesic deciduous woodlands with open understory. It is frequently associated with streams, swamps and ravines.
Mating system
Monogamous, with a long-term pair bond; two broods may be raised in southern areas, one in the north.Nest
The female chooses the nesting site and builds the nest. The shallow, cup-shaped nest is woven from weed stems, grass, cobwebs and other plant material, and is placed like a hammock between two branches. A breeding pair may occasionally use a nest from a previous year.
Eggs
2-4 creamy white to buff eggs, marked with browns, are laid in a clutch. 18mm (0.7”).
Chick development
The female incubates the eggs for 13 – 14 days. The male rarely feeds the female while she is incubating. At hatching, the chicks are altricial. Both parents care for the nestlings. The young fledge at 13 – 15 days of age. Care of the fledglings continues for another couple of weeks. The male takes over the care of the fledglings when the female starts on a second brood.
Diet
This bird’s diet consists of mostly flying insects, such as flies, mosquitoes and small moths; it will also consume berries and seeds. It will forage from a perch, flying out to catch its prey in the air.
Parasites
Louse flies (Hippoboscidae; species not identified) have been noted on an Acadian flycatcher in the Park.
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
This species is of moderate concern, mostly because of its dependence on mature forests, both in its breeding and wintering range. However it is not listed as threatened or endangered. As this species is positively associated with hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis), the recent appearance in the Park of the exotic Hemlock Woolly Adelgid--which has greatly reduced hemlock elsewhere in the eastern US--could cause a population decline for this flycatcher.
The Acadian Flycatcher is a common cowbird host.
Special Protection Status
Rangewide: None
Region: None
In Park: All plants and animals are protected within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit, which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Maps
Breeding: Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2005. Version 6.2.2006. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD.
Winter: N/AIn Park: Richard Schulz and Charles Wilder.
Photographs
Ron Austing.com, Wildlife Photography.Song or Call
John R. Sauer, Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html
Text
Camille Sobun, Susan Ann Shriner, and Paul Super, 2007.
Web page
REFERENCES
Alsop, F. J. 1991. Birds of the Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Gatlinburg, TN.
Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2000. Forty-second supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 117: 847-858.
Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2002. Forty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 119: 897-906.
Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds: the Species of Birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands, 7th ed. The Union, Washington, D. C.
Ehrlich, P. R, D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder's Handbook: a Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York.
Elphick, C, J. B. Dunning, Jr., and D. A. Sibley, eds. 2001. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Gough, G. A., Sauer, J. R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html.
Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
Stupka, A. 1963. Notes on the birds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press.
Whitehead, D. R. and T. Taylor. 2002. Acadian Flycatcher. The Birds of North America, No. (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists’ Union.
