Bird Guide

Smoke-colored Pewee vs Southern Tropical Pewee

Smoke-colored Pewee (Contopus fumigatus)

Smoke-colored Pewee

Contopus fumigatus

Small20 gForest

The smoke-colored pewee is a grey bird with a slight crest on its head. Their beaks are orange with a black culmen. Mature birds are 16–17 cm in size and 18-20g in weight. This species displays no sexual dimorphism, meaning both sexes share the same plumage. Their feet are anisodactyl, therefore three digits on their foot are forward and one is back. This is the most common foot type in perching birds. Voice: The smoke-colored pewee has a range of calls, with the most common being a loud "pip pip pip". At dawn a "where-di-WIT… whew" can be heard. A clear, repeated "peeew" whistle is also common. Though rare, alternate calls range from a hoarse, repeated "zur" to a whistled "whueer" to short "pjeek pjeek" notes.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Smoke-colored Pewee
Recorded by Rosa Elena Albornoz · Call · Fila De Mariches (near Parroquia La Dolorita), Sucre, Miranda, Venezuela · CC0
Photo: Joao Quental · CC BY 2.0
Southern Tropical Pewee (Contopus cinereus)

Southern Tropical Pewee

Contopus cinereus

Tiny12 gForest

The southern tropical pewee is 13.5 to 14.5 cm (5.3 to 5.7 in) long and weighs about 10 to 15 g (0.35 to 0.53 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark blackish gray crown with a slight crest, white to grayish white lores, and a thin white eye-ring on an otherwise grayish olive face. Their back is sooty olive-gray and their rump and uppertail coverts brownish olive with a hidden white feather tuft on either side of the rump. Their wings are mostly dusky. Voice: The southern tropical pewee's song is a "clear emphatic whistled pee-heeuw!, repeated at intervals". Its call is a "very short note typically repeated several times...pip..pip..pip..pip..pip....". The song and call have also been written as a "descending tjeuuw" and a "very high, staccato wic wic-" respectively. The species sings and calls at any time of day though more in the morning.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: William Swainson · Public domain

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Smoke-colored Pewee and Southern Tropical Pewee.