Gray Flycatcher

The Gray Flycatcher is a pale, understated member of the Empidonax genus adapted to dry, open shrubland habitats of the interior western United States, particularly sagebrush flats and pinyon-juniper woodland. It shows pale gray upperparts with little olive tone, a thin whitish eye-ring, faint wing bars, and a relatively long, dark-tipped bill with a mostly pale lower mandible.

One of its most useful identification traits is behavioral rather than visual: unlike most other flycatchers, which flick their tails upward, the Gray Flycatcher characteristically dips its tail slowly downward, a habit that helps separate it from very similar relatives.

Key Field Marks

• Pale gray upperparts with minimal olive or yellow tone, appearing washed-out compared to other Empidonax
• Thin, faint whitish eye-ring
• Relatively long tail and long bill with a pale lower mandible
• Distinctive habit of slowly dipping the tail downward, unlike the upward tail-flick of most relatives

Similar Species

• Dusky Flycatcher is similar but shows more olive tone, a shorter bill, and flicks its tail upward rather than dipping it down.
• Willow Flycatcher and Hammond's Flycatcher are both more olive-toned and lack the pale, gray-washed appearance.
• The downward tail-dip is the single most useful behavioral field mark for this species.

Gray Flycatchers breed in dry, open shrub-steppe habitats of the interior western United States, particularly sagebrush flats, pinyon-juniper woodland, and open areas with scattered junipers, from the Great Basin and southern Rockies south into parts of the Southwest.

The species winters primarily in Mexico, in similarly arid scrub and woodland habitats.

Voice

Sings a series of low, husky notes often rendered as chuwip and sillip, delivered in a simple pattern; gives a sharp wit call.

Feeding

Sallies from a low perch in open shrubland to catch flying insects, and also drops to the ground to capture prey, a foraging style suited to its sparse, arid habitat.

Nesting

Builds a cup nest of plant fibers, bark strips, and grass, typically placed in a low sagebrush, juniper, or other shrub in open country.