Gray Flycatcher ID

[Norm Erthal]

I have seen several posts on Ebird for gray flycatcher. The ones with photos are not convincing for gray flycatcher. The id seems to be based on downward tail flicking. This may be the worst field mark for empids, They all flick their tails down. About the only thing that can be said with certainty is if they flick their tails up, they are probably not gray. 

Norm Erthal

Arvada

[Christian Nunes]

Gray Flycatcher is the expected Empidonax anywhere in Colorado in April. They are commonly found up and down the Front Range as migrants, as well as on their breeding grounds in Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands. 

A quick eBird search brought up three recent checklists with photos of purported Gray Flycatchers from the Denver Metro area:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S67607413

https://ebird.org/checklist/S67611544

https://ebird.org/checklist/S67748261

Like Norm, I find the field mark of downward tail wagging to be overly emphasized and often confounded by birders. The field mark that I find to be most reliable is the unique bill shape of Gray Flycatcher, being longer and with a shallower depth than other Empids, and having a distinct awl-shaped lower mandible. The lower mandible is always a nice clean orange color with a contrasting dark tip. Combine the bill shape/color with a round head and a bold pale lore, and then maybe a behavioral clue like tail dipping. Using this as guidance, it's clear that all reports of Gray Flycatcher in the Denver Metro area this year are 100% accurate. 

Christian Nunes

Boulder, CO

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Norm Erthal <norman...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2020 8:22 PM
To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Gray Flycatcher ID

 

I have seen several posts on Ebird for gray flycatcher. The ones with photos are not convincing for gray flycatcher. The id seems to be based on downward tail flicking. This may be the worst field mark for empids, They all flick their tails down. About the only thing that can be said with certainty is if they flick their tails up, they are probably not gray. 

Norm Erthal

Arvada

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[David Tønnessen]

I agree with most everything Christian said. I have also witnessed birders call empids Gray Flycatchers based on a downward tail flicking, but I think the confusion is inexperience with empids and the lack of clarification when this field mark is being taught. All empids flick their tails downward, only Gray is special for dipping its tail BEFORE flicking it upwards. It can be a hard judgement call since this is a fast movement and other species like Dusky will flick upwards only slightly before a more significant and noticeable downward movement. In further agreement, there are other marks that should used to distinguish Gray as well; pale gray appearance, smooth round/flat head shape, long thin bill with bright lower mandible, very faint eye-ring. If you're not confident using a combination of these marks, leave the flycatcher at empid sp.

David Tonnessen
Colorado Springs

[Charles Hundertmark]

Gray Flycatcher also has light outer tail feathers.

Chuck Hundertmark
Lafayette, CO

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[Ted Floyd]

Hey, all. Thanks for the gray flycatcher discussion. Always fun to learn cool new stuff. Here's a video of a gray flycatcher that I made in May 2019:

https://twitter.com/BirdingMagazine/status/1126302315995062272

The tail-dipping behavior is, in my experience, a good field mark for the gray flycatcher: down-up, fluid and phoebe-like, with the tail at and below the plane of the body for the duration of the stereotyped behavior. Other supporting behavioral marks for migrant gray flycatchers, in my experience, include: foraging quite close to, and sometimes on, the ground; proximity to standing water; high level of activity overall. Agree with folks on all morphological field marks. This is a largish and lanky empid; distinctively long-billed and thin-billed, and relatively long-tailed; small-headed and round-headed; and gray overall, with low-contrast plumage and pale lores.

No gray flycatchers this evening, Tues., Apr. 28, at the Greenlee/Waneka/Hecla ecological complex, eastern Boulder County, but nice to see a Brewer sparrow, an orange-crowned warbler, and an eastern bluebird.

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County