Least Flycatcher

Overview

Least Flycatcher: Small flycatcher with olive-gray upperparts, gray breast, and pale yellow belly. Eye-ring is white. The bill has pale lower mandible with dark tip. Legs and feet are black. Feeds on insects, spiders, berries and seeds. Weak fluttering direct flight with shallow wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Least Flycatcher: Breeds from southern Yukon to northern Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, to southern British Columbia, northeastern Wyoming, eastern Nebraska, southern Missouri, south-central Indiana, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey to the Appalachians; winters from northern Mexico to Nicaragua. Prefers shade trees and orchards in villages and city parks, and along rural roadsides.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Least Flycatcher was first described in 1843 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, an American ornithologist and ichthyologist. It is also called Chebec, after the sound it makes.
An incubating bird is surprisingly tame and will often allow itself to be touched or even lifted off the nest, however with other birds it is aggressive and has been known to attack Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Unlike most species of songbird, adults migrate to their wintering grounds before molting, while young birds molt before and during autumn migration.
A group of flycatchers has many collective nouns, including an "outfield", "swatting", "zapper", and "zipper" of flycatchers.

The Least Flycatcher is native to Canada, the Caribbean and Central America. This bird has a range of more than 6 million square kilometers around the world. The population of this bird is estimated at around 14 million square kilometers. The current rating for the Least Flycatcher is Least Concern. The prior rating for this bird species was Lower Risk, which was downgraded to Least Concern in 2004 as a result of both this bird's stability and size. There are not believed to be any threats facing the Least Flycatcher currently.