Bird of the Week: Eastern Wood-Pewee

Photo courtesy of Audubon Guide to North American Birds.

Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)

This inconspicuous olive brown bird is easily overlooked–until it opens its beak and sings. Its pee-a-wee sound is unmistakable. A member of the tyrant flycatcher family, the Eastern Wood-Pewee has a long tail and wings. A peaked crown makes the head look triangular. Adults generally have two thin, white wing bars, while those of juveniles are buffy.  Western Wood-Peewee are found in west Texas and look almost identical but for their sound.

Like most flycatchers Eastern Wood-Pewee catch small flying insects. Sit-and-wait predators, they perch on branches and sally forth for insects. Depending on the season, they may try for food more than 60 times per hour. They also eat small amounts of plant matter, including poison ivy.

Eastern Wood-Pewee with insect. Photo courtesy of Jeanette Larson.

The Eastern Wood-Pewee breeds in almost any wooded habitat. They can be found during breeding season in Central Texas and throughout the Eastern United States and Canada. Outside of breeding season, they migrate to the Gulf Coast, wintering in Central and South America. They nest in trees and saplings at least 15 feet off the ground and a clutch usually consists of 2-4 eggs. A 3-inch cup is filled with lichen, hair, moss, and soft materials. Incubation lasts weeks. Very protective, the male will guard his territory of about 5-20 acres, changing his song to warn off other Pewees. Solitary during incubation, these birds appear to be monogamous, and the male brings food while the female incubates. Because the nests are difficult to find, they have not been studied extensively during nesting season, but it appears that they have a very high hatching success rate.

A group of Eastern Wood-Pewees is known as a dribble or a squirt. They can survive up to 8 years in the wild and are not endangered. Mills Pond in Wells Branch is a good location for sighting the Eastern Wood-Pewee, especially in May.

 

Compiled by Jeanette Larson.

Sources include All About Birds, Audubon Guide to North American Birds.