Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Empidonax flaviventris
TAXONOMY:
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Tyrannidae
- Genus: Empidonax
- species: flaviventris
MORPHOLOGY:
- Adult: The throat, breast, and belly and colored yellow. On the sides there is a little olive coloration. The dorsal side (back) is green in color. Has a thin eye-ring. White wing bars on the wings.
- Immature:
FOOD: eats insects.
MATING SYSTEM: monogamous.
BREEDING SYSTEM:
- Where Breeds: Breeds in Northern spruce forests in wet or boggy places and in alder swamps (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
- Nest: The nest is found on the ground in a moss hummock, mound, tree-roots, or raised roots of a fallen tree and is usually hidden by moss (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The nest is a cup made out of rootlets, weed stems, moss, and grasses (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The nest is lined with fine rootlets, black plant fibers, and thin moss stems, and occasionally fine grasses or pine needles (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The nest is built by the female (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
- Breeding Season: The breeding season begins in early June (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
- Eggs: There are 3-4 eggs laid in a clutch (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The eggs are subelliptical to short subellitpical in shape and white in base color (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The eggs are speckled sparsely with brown, pinkish, or buffish-cinnamon, and paler purple (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The average size of an egg is 17 X 13 mm (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
- Incubation: The incubation period is 15 days and incubation is done by the female (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
- Nestlings: The young, or nestlings, are born altricial and downy, with the down being brownish-olive in color (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997). The young fledge from the nest after 13 days from hatching and are tended by both parents while in the nest (Baicicich and Harrison, 1997).
MIGRATION STATUS IN WISCONSIN:
The yellow-bellied flycatcher is a neotropical migrant.
NEST FOUND AT LAND O' LAKES SITE:
There were four nests found at the Land O' Lakes site and two of them fledged young.
REFERENCES:
Baicicich, P.J. and Harrison, C.J.O. 1997. A Guide to the Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds, 2nd edition. Academic Press: San Diego.
Stokes, D.W. and Stokes, L.Q. 1996. Field Guide to Birds: Eastern Region. Little, Brown and Co.: Boston.
Last Updated: March 27, 2005
[Birds of Vilas County]
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