[TN-Bird] Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Greene Co., TN)
- From: Don Miller <raincrow@xxxxxxx>
- To: TN-Bird <TN-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Bristol-birds <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Butternuts <butternuts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 00:14:39 -0400
September 9, 2005
[posted September 10, 2005]
At around 7:00 p.m. on September 9, I found a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
(YBFL) near Tusculum in Greene County.
The exact location was along Brown's Bridge Road approximately 0.4 mile
from its intersection with Holly Creek Road. The site is about a
quarter mile north of the Nolichuckey River. This area of the county is
rural to semi-rural, with abundant woodlots of varying sizes scattered
throughout farmland increasingly giving way to residential
subdivisions. Much of the river in this area has wooded riparian zone.
The site where I found the bird is near several large woodlots with
fairly mature trees but is also adjacent to a livestock pasture. The
flycatcher was present alongside the road in a lush tangle of saplings,
shrubs, honeysuckle, tall forbs, and unmown grasses. It generally
remained at or just above eye level, with occasional dips into the rank
growth further down, at a distance of about 30 feet. I saw it well with
10x binoculars for several minutes.
I would not attempt to identify a YBFL on the basis of visual cues
alone, though the bird did present many characteristics strongly
suggestive of this species. It was quite small, about the size of a
typical Dendroica warbler, with an even, thin eye-ring. The head was
rounded and appeared large in proportion to the body. The bird appeared
"neckless." The tail was quite short. The primary tips appeared to be
short, or at least not noticeably long as in Eastern Wood-Pewee or
Olive-sided Flycatcher. The wingbars were strongly tinged with buff.
The underparts showed a noticeable yellowish wash from throat to belly.
The bill was short and showed a bright salmon color on the lower mandible.
For much of the time that I viewed the bird, I saw active flicking of
the wings and tail, especially the wings. I was reminded of the similar
behavior of Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
The overall impression created by the bird was that of a "nervous,"
yellow-tinged Least Flycatcher. I am very familiar with Least, Willow,
Alder, and Acadian Flycatchers from years of observations in our area,
and I never found anything about this bird to be suggestive of Willow or
Alder. The small size and short bill alone seemed to rule out those
species. I don't recall ever seeing an Acadian Flycatcher proportioned
like a Least, so I tended to rule out that species as well. The regular
wing-flicking and noticeable yellow on the underparts made me doubt that
I was seeing a Least Flycatcher.
Fortunately, I did not have to rely on visual cues. In fact, I was able
to observe the bird and note these details only because I was initially
alerted to its presence by its call note, which sounded like "puwee,"
"chewee," or "tawee" and which was reminiscent of the evening call of
Eastern Wood-Pewee though lacking that call's clear, sweet quality. The
bird called repeatedly. I must have heard at least a dozen calls before
I ever saw it. Although I'm not familiar with the call notes of YBFL, I
am familiar with the common calls of our four regular Empidonax species
and with calls of other area flycatchers, and I've never heard anything
from any of them that sounded the same as this call. In all, I heard
the vocalization over two dozen times, and there was little variation in
the calls.
Later, I compared the call to a recording of the common "tuwee" call of
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher. I could tell no difference. The
characteristic upslurred, two-syllabled quality of the call on the tape
was a tight fit with what I had heard. At no time had I heard anything
different or suggestive of another species.
I am aware of one other report of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in Greene
County. On September 11, 1973, James G. Holt of Greeneville sighted a
bird that he reported as a YBFL. The record appears in v. 44 of The
Migrant, on p. 102. [James G. Holt, who lived in Greeneville in the
1970's, should not be confused with James B. Holt, a current member of
Greeneville TOS.]
Don Miller
Greeneville, Greene Co., TN
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