Bird Guide

Southern Tropical Pewee vs Western Wood Pewee

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
Western Wood Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Tiny13 gForest

Adults are gray-olive on the upperparts with light underparts, washed with olive on the breast. They have two wing bars and a dark bill with yellow at the base of the lower mandible. This bird is very similar in appearance to the eastern wood pewee; the two birds were formerly considered to be one species. The call of C. sordidulus is a loud buzzy peeer; the song consists of three rapid descending tsees ending with a descending peeer. The bird is about 5.5–6.3 in (14–16 cm) in length, 0.4–0.5 oz (11–14 g) in weight, and has a wingspan of 10.2 in (26 cm).

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Western Wood Pewee
Recorded by Jonathon Jongsma · Song · Prairie Trail, Custer State Park, South Dakota, United States · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Yellowstone National Park · 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: Southern Tropical Pewee and Western Wood Pewee.