Pacific-slope Flycatcher

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Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Empidonax
Species:	E. difficilis

Binomial name

Empidonax difficilis
Baird, 1858

The Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) is a small insectivorous bird of the family Tyrannidae. It is native to coastal regions of western North America, including the Pacific Ocean and the southern Sea of Cortez, as far north as British Columbia and southern Alaska, but is replaced in the inland regions by the Cordilleran Flycatcher. These two species were formerly considered a single species known as Western Flycatcher. In winter, both species migrate south to Mexico, where they are virtually indistinguishable from one another.

In plumage, the Pacific-slope Flycatcher is virtually identical to the Cordilleran Flycatcher, and differs only subtly from most Empidonax flycatchers in North America, but its breeding habitat and call are different. In summer, the Pacific-slope Flycatcher inhabits deciduous or mixed woodlands, hawking for insects from a hidden perch.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Empidonax difficilis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern