Species: Empidonax hammondii

Hammond's Flycatcher

Species

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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound

(Sedgwick 1994, NGS 1999). Males sing most frequently in morning and before dusk, but will sing throughout the day, and usually use perches in mid- to upper-canopy (Sedgwick 1994).

Classification

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Craniata

Class

Aves

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Tyrannidae

Genus

Empidonax

NatureServe

Source:
ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100912

Classification

Other Global Common Names

Mosquero de Hammond - moucherolle de Hammond

Informal Taxonomy

Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Perching Birds

Formal Taxonomy

Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Passeriformes - Tyrannidae - Empidonax - Morphologically uniform and with low genetic variability across entire range (Johnson and Marten 1991).

Ecology and Life History

(Sedgwick 1994, NGS 1999). Males sing most frequently in morning and before dusk, but will sing throughout the day, and usually use perches in mid- to upper-canopy (Sedgwick 1994).

Short General Description

A small bird (flycatcher).

Migration

false - false - true - Northbound migrants arrive in U.S. March-May (Terres 1980). Migrate earlier in spring and later in fall than dusky flycatcher (EMPIDONAX OBERHOLSERI; NGS 1999). In spring, migration lasts from mid-March to early June; males migrate ahead of females and first-year juveniles and pass chiefly through coastal states; second wave largely of females and fewer males passes through interior; timing and location of routes may be related to climatic conditions (Johnson 1965). Fall migrants pass through coastal states to Arizona from late August through late October; interior migration is shorter duration and peaks in mid-September; all then funnel through southeastern Arizona and southwestern Mexico (Johnson 1970).

Non-migrant

false

Locally Migrant

false

Food Comments

Flies out from a perch, usually high in tree, to catch insects in the air. Will hover-glean in early stages of breeding season, later switching to flycatching and gleaning from woody substrates, probably related to prey availability (Sakai and Noon 1990). Eats caterpillars, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, bees and wasps (Terres 1980, Sedgwick 1994). In a Colorado study, Coleoptera and Lepidoptera greatest proportion of diet by dry weight, followed by Diptera and Hymenoptera (Beaver and Baldwin 1975).

Reproduction Comments

Breeding season from early June to late July (Baicich and Harrison 1997). Clutch size is two to four. Incubation, by female, lasts 15 days. Young are tended by both adults, leave nest 17-18 days after hatching. Single-brooded; will replace lost clutches.

Ecology Comments

Density estimates have been reported in a variety of habitats. In Northwestern California Douglas-fir (PSEUDOTSUGA MENZIESII) forest, 40 birds per 100 hectares in old-growth, 20 birds per 100 hectares in mature stands (Sakai 1987, cited in Sedgwick 1994); 14.1 birds per 100 hectares in mature forest, 6.9 birds per 100 hectares in sawtimber stands (Raphael et al. 1988). In Oregon coast range Douglas-fir forest, 69.9 birds per 100 hectares in young (40-72 years) stands, 50.6 birds per 100 hectares in mature (80-120 years), and 17.4 birds per 100 hectares in old-growth (200-525 years; Carey et al. 1991). In western Montana Douglas-fir/Ponderosa pine (PINUS PONDEROSA), 17.0-17.3 territorial males per 100 hectares (Manuwal 1970 cited in Sedgwick 1994). In a California mature mixed-coniferous forest and montane chaparral, 16.6-41.4 territories per 100 hectares recorded (North 1989, Purcell 1990, Nelson et al. 1991, Purcell et al. 1992a). In California old-growth mixed coniferous-red fir (ABIES MAGNIFICA) transition forest, 22.5-59 territories per 100 hectares recorded (Breese 1989, Kee 1990, Davis et al. 1991, Purcell et al. 1992b). In Colorado, 14-47 birds per 100 hectares in aspen, 14-28 birds per 100 hectares in aspen-conifer habitat (Beaver and Baldwin 1975). <br><br>Relative abundances range from an average 0.65 (Colorado) to 7.62 (Cascade Mountains) birds per 25-mile survey route (Sauer et al. 1997). Fall mortality of immatures apparently high (Johnson 1970). Shows low genetic variation as well as extreme morphological uniformity across a range spanning 30 degrees of latitude, possibly due to past population bottlenecks (Johnson 1966, Johnson and Marten 1991).

Length

Weight

Conservation Status

NatureServe Global Status Rank

Global Status Last Reviewed

1999-11-30

Global Status Last Changed

1996-12-02

Other Status

LC - Least concern

Distribution

Conservation Status Map

Global Range

FG - 20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles) - FG - BREEDING: east-central Alaska, southern Yukon, northeastern British Columbia, southwestern Alberta, western and south-central Montana, northwestern Wyoming, south through northwestern U.S. (Washington, Oregon, Idaho) to east-central California, Utah, northeastern Arizona, western Colorado, and north-central New Mexico (AOU 1998, Sedgwick 1994). Centers of breeding abundance, based on BBS data, are in the Pacific Northwest from northern California to British Columbia, and in the northern Rockies (Sauer et al. 1997). NON-BREEDING: southeastern Arizona, south through highlands of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador to Honduras and probably Nicaragua (AOU 1998).

Global Range Code

Global Range Description

20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)

ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.100912