Western flycatcher. Identification of
Epidonax flycatchers are always considered among the hardest birds to identify, especially in the absence of vocal cues. Merlin has identified Western wood-pewees, Hammond’s flycatchers, and Western flycatchers in my backyard. Seeing them is more of a challenge as they prefer to forage within the Douglas fir canopy versus from open perches. With
Epidonax flycatchers, even if you have the bird in hand, identification is a challenge and researchers who are tagging birds captured in mist nests have to use ratios of body parts for accurate identifications.
A few days ago, out the kitchen window I noticed a small flycatcher perched on an arm of my the bird feeder support.

I rushed back to my office to grab my telephoto setup and it was still there. The flycatcher took several forays from that perch to grab insects and typically returned to the support arm each time. A few times it perched on a shaded Douglas fir branch, a more typical perch location than in the open sun.

After examining the pictures, I determined that this was a Western flycatcher. This was based on several factors: a peaked crown, olive feathers on the head and yellowish feathers on the neck and breast, the suggestion of a darker “vest”, and a tear-drop shaped eye ring. This species has had an interesting taxonomic history. From 1989 until 2023, it had been split into the Pacific-slope flycatcher along coastal North America and the Cordilleran flycatcher in the Rockies. In 2023, the American Ornithologist’s Union lumped both together as the Western flycatcher due to hybridization, lack of consistent vocal differences, and similar morphologies.
Steve