Greater Pewee

Overview

Greater Pewee: Large, plump flycatcher, olive-gray upperparts, white throat, gray breast, pale yellow belly. Slender crest. Broad, flat bill is two-toned: upper mandible is dark, lower is orange. Wings and tail are dark. Short flights on rapid shallow wing beats. Sallies out to take insects in air

Range and Habitat

Greater Pewee: Breeds from central Arizona and southwestern New Mexico southward. Spends winters mainly south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include highland coniferous forests, especially pine and pine-oak.

INTERESTING FACTS

Greater Pewees have a loud and distinctive call that is often heard on the sound tracks of Westerns.
A single bird is often included in flocks of wintering wood-warblers.
If a second one tries to join the flock a noisy confrontation occurs until the intruder or the original one is expelled.
They will aggressively defend nesting territory against larger birds, snakes, and squirrels.
A group of pewees are collectively known as a "dribble" and a "squirt" of pewees.

The Greater Pewee is a medium passerine bird found throughout the Americas. It is regularly seen in southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, central Guatemala, and rarely southern California and western and southern Texas. This species prefers to breed in pine and oak woodlands in mountain ranges in upper elevations. Nesting takes place high in these trees, and 2-4 eggs are laid in the shallow cup-shaped nest. The Greater Pewee’s northernmost populations will migrate during winter months to northern Mexico. This bird feeds mostly on insects caught during flight. The conservation rating for the Greater Pewee is currently Least Concern due to maintained and rising populations of the species.