The yellow-bellied flycatcher is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.
Region
Boreal North America (breeding) and Mesoamerica (wintering)
Typical Environment
Breeds across Canada and the northeastern United States, favoring wet coniferous forests, bogs, and shaded spruce–fir stands with abundant sphagnum. During migration it passes through eastern and central North America. In winter it occupies humid forests and edges from southern Mexico through Central America. It forages from the understory to mid-story, often in shaded, damp habitats. Edge habitats with small clearings or gaps are regularly used for foraging flights.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small tyrant flycatcher, it breeds in sphagnum bogs and spruce–fir forests of the North American boreal zone and winters in Mexico and Central America. Among the notoriously similar Empidonax flycatchers, its richer yellow underparts (including the throat) and bold eye ring are helpful clues. Birders often rely on its distinctive, plaintive two-part whistles to confirm identification. Nests are typically cups of moss placed on sphagnum hummocks or earthen banks in damp coniferous woods.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Rancho Naturalista Baja - Costa Rica
Temperament
shy and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick sallies from low perches
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in pairs during the breeding season, holding small territories in damp coniferous woods. The nest is a mossy cup often set on a sphagnum hummock or low bank close to the ground. Outside breeding, it is generally solitary but may associate loosely with mixed-species flocks in winter.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
A plaintive, two-part whistle often rendered as a soft, rising 'chu-wee' or 'pee-wee' with a slurred quality. Calls include dry 'pit' notes and thin whistles given from shaded perches.
Plumage
Olive-green upperparts with a dusky-olive breast wash and distinctly yellow throat and belly; two pale wing bars and a crisp eye ring.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small flying and foliage-dwelling insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, leafhoppers, and small moths, as well as spiders. It typically sallies out from a low perch to capture prey in midair and also gleans from leaves and twigs. In migration and winter it may occasionally take small berries, but animal prey dominates.
Preferred Environment
Forages in shaded understory and mid-story of boggy coniferous forests, along forest edges, and in small gaps. In winter, favors humid evergreen and cloud forests, second growth, and edges with scattered perches.
