Western Wood-Pewee
Western Wood-PeweeWestern Wood-PeweeWestern Wood-PeweeWestern Wood-Pewee

Western Wood-Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered Endemic
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Saguaro National Park
968 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026
15,158 Verified sightings across all 84 parks From 2019 to 2026
September Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Western Wood-Pewee

The western wood pewee (Contopus sordidulus) is a small tyrant flycatcher. Adults are gray-olive on the upperparts with light underparts, washed with olive on the breast. They have two wing bars and a dark bill with yellow at the base of the lower mandible. This bird is very similar in appearance to the eastern wood pewee; the two birds were formerly considered to be one species. The call of C. sordidulus is a loud buzzy peeer; the song consists of three rapid descending tsees ending with a descending peeer. The bird is about 5.5–6.3 in (14–16 cm) in length, 0.4–0.5 oz (11–14 g) in weight, and has a wingspan of 10.2 in (26 cm).

Their breeding habitat is open wooded areas in western North America. These birds migrate to South America at the end of summer. The female lays two or three eggs in an open cup nest on a horizontal tree branch or within a tree cavity; California black oak forests are examples of suitable nesting habitat for this species of bird. Both parents feed the young.

They often wait on a perch at a middle height in a tree and fly out to catch insects in flight (hawking), and will also hover to pluck insects from... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park

Greater Pewee
LC

Greater Pewee

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Contopus pertinax

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Olive-sided Flycatcher
LC

Olive-sided Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Contopus cooperi

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Vermilion Flycatcher
LC

Vermilion Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pyrocephalus rubinus

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely
Black Phoebe
LC

Black Phoebe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sayornis nigricans

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Say's Phoebe
LC Endemic

Say's Phoebe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sayornis saya

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Brown-crested Flycatcher
LC

Brown-crested Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Ash-throated Flycatcher
LC

Ash-throated Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Myiarchus cinerascens

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Cassin's Kingbird
LC

Cassin's Kingbird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tyrannus vociferans

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Western Kingbird
LC

Western Kingbird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tyrannus verticalis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Tropical Kingbird
LC

Tropical Kingbird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
LC Endemic

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax difficilis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Gray Flycatcher
LC

Gray Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax wrightii

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~40%
2 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
5 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
6 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
8 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
9 Madidi National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~10%
10 Cordillera Azul National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
11 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
12 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
13 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
14 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
15 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
16 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
17 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
18 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
19 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
20 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
21 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
22 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
23 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
24 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
25 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
26 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
27 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
28 Puracé National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
29 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
30 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
31 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
32 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
33 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
34 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
35 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
36 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
37 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
38 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
39 Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
40 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
41 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
42 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
43 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
44 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
45 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
46 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
47 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
48 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
49 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
50 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
51 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
52 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
53 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
54 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
55 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
56 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
57 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
58 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
59 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
<5%
60 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
61 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
62 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
63 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
64 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
65 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
66 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
67 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
68 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
69 Denali National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
70 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
71 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
72 Wood Buffalo National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
73 Nahanni National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
74 Biotopo Cerro Cahuí 🇬🇹 Guatemala
Insufficient data
75 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
76 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
Insufficient data
77 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
78 Reserva de la Biosfera Mariposa Monarca 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
79 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
80 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
81 Kenai Fjords National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
82 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
83 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data
84 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Western Wood-Pewee in Saguaro National Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Western Wood-Pewee sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 968 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Western Wood-Pewee in Saguaro National Park?

September has the highest sighting rate for Western Wood-Pewee in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.

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