Buff-breasted Flycatcher

About the Buff-breasted Flycatcher

The buff-breasted flycatcher (Empidonax fulvifrons) is a small passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found from the southwestern U.S.A. to Honduras. The buff-breasted flycatcher was originally described as Muscicapa fulvifrons, erroneously classified with the Old World flycatchers. Its current genus Empidonax was erected in 1855.

The buff-breasted flycatcher has these six subspecies: E. f. pygmaeus Coues, 1865 E. f. fulvifrons (Giraud, 1841) E. f. rubicundus Cabanis & Heine, 1860 E. f. brodkorbi Phillips, AR, 1966 E. f. fusciceps Nelson, 1904 E. f. inexpectatus Griscom, 1932

Some authors have questioned the validity of some subspecies, noting that E. f. fulvifrons and E. f. brodkorbi are formally known only from a single specimen of each. The buff-breasted flycatcher is about 13 cm (5.1 in) long and weighs 6.9 to 9.3 g (0.24 to 0.33 oz). It is the smallest member of genus Empidonax in the US and among the smallest overall. The sexes are alike. Subspecies E. f. pygmaeus is the best known. Adults have dull buffy white lores and a faint dull buffy white eye-ring on an otherwise buffy greenish brown face... Wikipedia →