Hammond's Flycatcher

Overview

Hammond's Flycatcher: Small flycatcher, gray upperparts, gray-brown underparts, white eye-ring. Throat is pale gray, belly is pale yellow. Wings are dark with two pale bars. Feeds on insects. Black legs and feet. Weak fluttering direct flight with shallow wing beats. Sallies to take insects in air.

Range and Habitat

Hammond's Flycatcher: Breeds from eastern Alaska south to northern California and northern New Mexico. Spends winters in the tropics and rarely in Arizona. Preferred habitats include mature conifer forests at high altitudes.

INTERESTING FACTS

The Hammond's Flycatcher looks very similar to Gray and Dusky flycatchers; all three species overlap in range, but differ in voice and habitat.
The name of this bird commemorates William Alexander Hammond.
Early in the breeding season males fight so vigorously defending their territories that they often become locked together in midair.
A group of flycatchers has many collective nouns, including an "outfield", "swatting", "zapper", and "zipper" of flycatchers.

The Hammond's Flycatcher has a large range, estimated globally at 2,800,000 square kilometers. Native to North America, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, this bird prefers forest and shrubland ecosystems. The global population of this bird is estimated at 13,000,000 individuals and does not show signs of decline that would necessitate inclusion on the IUCN Red List. For this reason, the current evaluation status of Hammond's Flycatcher is Least Concern.