Western Wood Pewee
Contopus sordidulus
The Western Wood Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) is a common tyrant flycatcher found in 18 countries, weighing about 13 g. The western wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher.
About the Western Wood Pewee
The western wood pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
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).
What the Western Wood Pewee sounds like
Where it lives
Recorded as a rare visitor in Brazil, French Guiana.
When to see it
Best months: May, June, July, August, September, with peak activity in June. It is a summer visitor species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Western Wood Pewee?
- Adults are gray-olive on the upperparts with light underparts, washed with olive on the breast. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Western Wood Pewee?
- The Western Wood Pewee is a tiny sized bird weighing about 13 g.
- Where can you see a Western Wood Pewee?
- The Western Wood Pewee occurs in 18 countries, including the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and Ecuador.
- What does a Western Wood Pewee sound like?
- You can listen to 3 field recordings of the Western Wood Pewee on this page, contributed to xeno-canto under open licences.
- What birds look similar to a Western Wood Pewee?
- The Western Wood Pewee is most easily confused with the Olive-sided Flycatcher, the Southern Tropical Pewee and the Greater Pewee.
- Is the Western Wood Pewee endangered?
- The Western Wood Pewee is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Western Wood Pewee for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.