[bcbirdclub] Empidonax Information
- From: Michelle Talbott <mjtalbott625@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: Buchanan County Bird Club <bcbirdclub@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 09:48:10 -0700 (PDT)
A couple of people have e-mailed me questions about the empid I saw yesterday
at Guesses Fork, so I'm posting this general information to the entire list for
anyone who is interested. Most of the facts can be found in Sibley.
There are 11 species of flycatchers in the genus Empidonax (affectionately
called empids). All of the species are so physically similar that most birders
will not positively identify an individual bird based on appearance alone.
Voice, particularly song, is the most reliable characteristic used to identity
these birds. Five of the 11 species breed in or migrate through Buchanan
County, with the Acadian Flycatcher being the most consistent summer resident.
Based on behavior and location, the bird I saw was probably an Acadian
Flycatcher. In addition to its summer resident status, the Acadian Flycatcher
frequents treetops, and the bird I saw was in the top of a tree. Also, the bird
was in close proximity to a known nesting area of Acadian Flycatchers. Of
course, all of you know what "probably" is worth in birding. If we used such
flimsy evidence to positively identify birds, our mistakes would be more
numerous than warblers on Compton Mountain during fall migration. So, I
waited on the bird to sing so I could identify him, but he did not cooperate
(I didn't really sing to him to try and elicit a response, that was just a lame
joke; although, I might try it next time).
Roger might be able to tell us which of the empids have been recorded as
visitors to Buchanan County.
Michelle
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