Southern Tropical Pewee

Contopus cinereus

Tyrant Flycatchers and Allies · Passeriformes · Uncommon

The Southern Tropical Pewee (Contopus cinereus) is a uncommon tyrant flycatcher found in 20 countries, weighing about 12 g. The southern tropical pewee is a small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers.

Least ConcernUncommonEats invertebratesforestcup nest12 g

About the Southern Tropical Pewee

The southern tropical pewee is a small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.

Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

How to identify it

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.

Where it lives

Recorded as a rare visitor in Peru, Ecuador.

When to see it

The Southern Tropical Pewee can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.

Easily confused with

Quick questions

How do you identify a Southern Tropical Pewee?
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). Full identification notes are on this page.
How big is a Southern Tropical Pewee?
The Southern Tropical Pewee is a tiny sized bird weighing about 12 g.
Where can you see a Southern Tropical Pewee?
The Southern Tropical Pewee occurs in 20 countries, including Costa Rica, Belize, Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia.
What birds look similar to a Southern Tropical Pewee?
The Southern Tropical Pewee is most easily confused with the Greater Pewee, the Smoke-colored Pewee and the Cuban Pewee.
Is the Southern Tropical Pewee endangered?
The Southern Tropical Pewee is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Learn the Southern Tropical Pewee for real

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