The buff-breasted flycatcher (''Empidonax fulvifrons'') is a small

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

. It is the smallest

Empidonax The genus ''Empidonax'' is a group of small insect, insect-eating passerine birds in the tyrant flycatcher family, the Tyrannidae. The genus name ''Empidonax'' is from Ancient Greek ''empis'', "gnat", and ''anax'', "master". Most of these birds ...

flycatcher, typically ranging from 11.5 to 13 cm (4.5 to 5 in) in size. Adults have olive gray upper bodies, darker coloration on the wings and tail, conspicuous white eye rings, white wing bars, small bills, and short tails. The breast of this species is distinctive, washed with a strong orange-

buff Buff or BUFF may refer to: People * Buff (surname), a list of people * Buff (nickname), a list of people * Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955) * Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional ...

color. Their preferred breeding habitat is scrub and open woodlands. They usually make a

cup nest A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or Eurasian bl ...

in the forks of trees. Females usually lay two eggs at a time. The range of the buff-breasted flycatcher extends from extreme southeastern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the United States through

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to southern

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

. These birds are partial migrants, retreating from their northern breeding areas in the United States and northern Mexico for the winter. To feed, they often wait on an open perch of a shrub or low branch of a tree and fly out to catch insects in flight. They also sometimes pick insects from foliage while hovering. The song is an alternating versed ''PIdew'', ''piDEW''. The call is a loud dry ''pit''. Buff-breastedFlycatcher-30APR2017

Subspecies

Various subspecies are recognized: * ''Empidonax fulvifrons pygmaeus'' Coues, 1865 (northern buff-breasted flycatcher or fulvous flycatcher) * ''Empidonax fulvifrons fulvifrons'' (Giraud, 1841) * ''Empidonax fulvifrons rubicundus'' Cabanis & Heine, 1859 * ''Empidonax fulvifrons brodkorbi'' Phillips, AR, 1966 * ''Empidonax fulvifrons fusciceps'' Nelson, 1904 * ''Empidonax fulvifrons inexpectatus'' Griscom, 1932

References

AviBase
{{Taxonbar, from=Q268810 buff-breasted flycatcher Native birds of the Southwestern United States Birds of Central America buff-breasted flycatcher buff-breasted flycatcher