Bird of the Week – Hammond’s Flycatcher
We should all love flycatchers; they eat mosquitoes and other bugs. Among flycatchers, the Hammond’s is famously difficult to identify. Its appearance, behavior and vocalizations are very similar to Gray and Dusky Flycatchers.
Hammond’s Flycatcher, Creamer’s Refuge, Fairbanks
Happily, neither the Dusky nor Grey Flycatchers are commonly seen in Alaska. So a big-headed, mouse-grey backed flycatcher with a two-toned mandible is probably going to be a Hammond’s.
Hammond’s both hawk bugs, flying from a perch, and probe for bugs, working through leaves and small branches. They are among the earliest flycatchers to arrive in the spring. Interior Alaska is northern limit of this species range; they breed from Alaska down to the Central Rockies, and winter from southern Arizona down to Guatemala.
Camera geek stuff: f8, 1/250, ISO250.
For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
I’m guessing one needs Hubble Space telescope to tell if the mandible is two-toned. Otherwise they look like neat li’l rascals.
I love any bird that eats lots of bugs. It’s one of the reasons I love dragonflies, also, too.