A land manager's guide to conserving habitat for forest birds in ...

Acadian Flycatcher Empidonax virescens
dangling pieces of vegetation. They are
slung in the fork of a small horizontal
branch, often far out from a tree-trunk, at
a height of 2.5 to 6.0 metres. Females
typically lay clutches of three or four white
eggs with small brownish spots.
Identification (14 centimetres)
A denizen of large, mature, moist deciduous forests and
streamsides (often with a hemlock component), the Acadian
Flycatcher is typically first detected by its explosive “peet-sah” or
“tee-chup” song. They are the largest and greenest of the North
American Empidonax flycatchers, a group of small grey-green birds
similar in appearance, but distinguishable by song and habitat.
Their upperparts are greenish-olive, while their underparts have a
faint yellow wash. They have a white eye-ring and throat, mostly
pale (yellowish) lower mandible, and white or buffy wing bars that
contrast with their dark wings. The sexes are identical.
Conservation Status
Though a widely distributed breeder in the forested landscape of
the eastern United States, the Acadian Flycatcher is Endangered
in Canada and restricted to the southern Carolinian forest region
of Ontario. Despite stable populations, it is a species of
conservation concern across much of its range due to its
dependence on large mature forest and sensitivity to forest
fragmentation. The Ontario population is estimated to consist of
no more than 50 breeding pairs.
Diet
Acadian Flycatchers eat a wide variety of
insects and larvae, from ground level to
lower canopy. They are passive foragers
that sit on exposed branches looking for
prey, snatching most insects from leaves,
especially from the undersides. They also
hover to glean insects, and often catch
them in flight.
Management Guidelines
Emphasis should be placed on conserving
large, mature tracts of forest with little
internal disturbance, and maintaining canopy cover in riparian
and swamp forest habitat. The highly fragmented landscape and
small woodlot size in southern Ontario limit populations.
Restoring and preserving large forests would not only provide
good nesting habitat, but may alleviate edge-effects to increase
population size and facilitate range expansion. The species is
tolerant of light selection harvest, but even moderate logging
within territories is expected to eliminate populations for years,
if not decades.
Acadian Flycatcher — Photo: Bill Hubick
How to find
The best way to spot
Acadian Flycatchers is
to listen for their
explosive “peet-sah”
call, then look carefully
for a singing male on
an exposed branch in
the lower canopy.
Photo: Peter Burke
Breeding Biology
The Acadian Flycatcher is a long-distance migrant that winters in
Latin America. On the breeding grounds, it is typically associated
with water, selecting sites with high, dense canopy and an open
understorey within undisturbed forest. Areas with no or little
ground cover are preferred. In Ontario, it breeds from mid-May to
the end of July, usually raising just a single brood. Nests are
shallow, messy, frail-looking, hammock-like baskets with long
Did you know?
• Both males and females will bill-snap in response to
imminent threats.
• Acadian Flycatcher nests suffer from predation rates of
50 to 70 percent.
• It is an excellent flyer, with the capability to hover and
fly backwards.
Bird Species Accounts 111