| Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Identification Tips |
| (Credit: U. S. Geological Survey) |
| General
Information - Small flycatcher - Triangular head - White eye ring - Lower mandible orange - Brownish-olive upperparts - Breast has olive wash - Yellowish throat, belly and undertail coverts - Wing bars-white in adults, buffy in immatures - Fall birds have yellower underparts than Spring birds Similar species The empidonax flycatchers are very difficult to tell apart. The safest way to differentiate them is by habitat, range, and voice in the breeding season. Differences in plumage due to molt, wear and age make the plumage quite variable. Some Yellow-bellied Flycatchers can be safely identified by a combination of features: size-they are smaller than all but the Least Flycatcher with short tails and small bills that give them a big-headed look, and are greener above and yellower below than all but the Acadian. Willow and Alder appear longer-tailed, have less obvious eye rings, are browner above and whiter below. Least Flycatchers are grayer above and whiter below. Acadian Flycatchers have larger bills, longer tails, less yellow on the throat and are less active. Empidonax flycatchers from the western United States typically have darker lower mandibles and different ranges. Cordilleran and Pacific Slope Flycatchers are somewhat larger with more oval eye rings. Pewees are larger with whiter underparts and less obvious eye rings. |
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