Pacific-slope Flycatcher

The Pacific-slope Flycatcher is a small, yellowish-washed member of the Empidonax genus found in humid, shady forests along the Pacific coast of North America. It shows olive-green upperparts, a teardrop-shaped white eye-ring that often points upward behind the eye, and pale yellowish underparts and wing bars. It was formerly considered the same species as the Cordilleran Flycatcher under the name "Western Flycatcher," until the two were split in 1989 based on subtle vocal and genetic differences, though they remain virtually identical in appearance.

This flycatcher favors cool, moist, shaded forest understory, often near streams or ravines, where its soft, upslurred call notes can be heard from the shadows of dense conifer or mixed forest.

Key Field Marks

• Olive-green upperparts with a yellowish wash overall, including the throat and belly
• Bold, teardrop-shaped whitish eye-ring, often pointed at the rear
• Two pale wing bars
• Small size typical of Empidonax flycatchers

Similar Species

• Cordilleran Flycatcher is essentially identical in plumage; the two are distinguished mainly by range (Pacific-slope along the coast, Cordilleran in the interior Rockies and Great Basin) and by subtle differences in call notes.
• Hammond's Flycatcher is grayer overall with a less yellow wash and shorter primary projection.
• Voice, especially the sharp tseet or pseet call, is often the most reliable way to confirm identification within its range.

Pacific-slope Flycatchers breed in humid coniferous and mixed forests along the Pacific coast, from southeastern Alaska through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California, typically in shaded understory near streams, ravines, or dense canopy cover.

The species winters primarily in Mexico, migrating along the Pacific coast and through the interior in spring and fall.

Voice

Gives a sharp, upslurred pseet or tseet call and a soft, three-parted song, subtly different in cadence from the closely related Cordilleran Flycatcher.

Feeding

Sallies from a shaded perch in the forest understory to catch flying insects, and also hover-gleans prey from foliage.

Nesting

Builds a cup nest of moss, grass, and plant fibers, often placed in a crevice, on a stump, in a tree cavity, or on a human structure such as a building ledge, typically near water in shaded forest.