Species Summary

BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary

Contopus sordidulus
Western Wood-Pewee

Scientific Name:

Contopus sordidulus Sclater, 1859

English Name:

Western Wood-Pewee

Classification / Taxonomy

Scientific Name - Concept Reference:

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.

Classification Level:

Species

Species Group:

Vertebrate Animal

Species Code:

B-WWPE

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
Animalia	Craniata	Aves	Passeriformes	Tyrannidae

Conservation Status / Legal Designation

Global Status:

G5 (Apr 2016)

Provincial Status:

S5?B (Mar 2022)

BC List:

Yellow

Provincial FRPA list:

Provincial Wildlife Act:

COSEWIC Status:

SARA Schedule:

General Status Canada:

4 - Secure (2005)

Migratory Bird Convention Act:

Ecology & Life History

General Description:

Global Reproduction Comments:

Breeding begins in early May in the south, to early June in the north (Harrison 1978). Female incubates 3, sometimes 2-4, eggs for about 12 days.

Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)

    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant:

N /
N /
Y /
na /

Global Migration Comments:

Western wood-pewees arrive in nesting areas in the contiguous United States, Canada, and Alaska in April-May (Terres 1980). Migration through Costa Rica occurs in late March-late May (perhaps early June) and late July or early August to mid-November (Stiles and Skutch 1989). In Colombia, the species is believed to be a common transient and winter resident, mid-August to mid-May (Hilty and Brown 1986).

Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)

Agriculture / Cultivated Field / Facultative - frequent use
Agriculture / Hedgerow / Facultative - frequent use
Agriculture / Pasture/Old Field / Facultative - frequent use
Anthropogenic / Industrial / Facultative - frequent use
Anthropogenic / Urban/Suburban / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Conifer Forest - Mesic (average) / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Conifer Forest - Moist/wet / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Deciduous/Broadleaf Forest / Facultative - frequent use
Forest / Mixed Forest (deciduous/coniferous mix) / Facultative - frequent use
Grassland/Shrub / Shrub - Logged / Facultative - occasional use
Grassland/Shrub / Shrub - Natural / Facultative - occasional use
Lakes / Pond/Open Water / Facultative - frequent use
Riparian / Riparian Forest / Facultative - occasional use

Global Habitat Comments:

Habitat includes forest, forest edge, and woodland, especially coniferous or mixed coniferous-deciduous forest, and poplar or riparian woodland (Subtropical and Temperate zones, in nonbreeding season also Tropical Zone) (AOU 1983). Nests usually are on horizontal branches of living or dead trees, 4-23 meters above ground, sometimes in the fork of a small tree or bush.

Food Habits:

Invertivore: Adult, Immature

Global Food Habits Comments:

This flycatcher sallies out from an open perch and catches insects in the air. It feeds on a wide variety of insects, including: bees, wasps, ants, and flies.

Global Phenology:

Diurnal: Adult, Immature

Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)

Colonial Breeder:

Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g):

16/ / 13

Elevation (m) (min / max):

Global:
Provincial:

Distribution

Endemic:

Global Range Comment:

Breeding range extends from east-central Alaska, southern Yukon, central Mackenzie, central Saskatchewan, and central Manitoba south through western Canada (east to Manitoba) and western United States to southern Baja California and interior highlands of Mexico and Guatemala to Honduras, possibly to northern Nicaragua and Costa Rica (Bemis and Rising 1999). Nonbreeding range extends from Colombia and Venezuela south to Peru and Bolivia, casually northward to Costa Rica (Stiles and Skutch 1989, Bemis and Rising 1999).

Authors / Contributors

Global Information Author:

Hammerson, G.

Last Updated:

Mar 18, 2009

Provincial Information Author:

Last Updated:

References and Related Literature

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.

Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G.W. Kaiser, M.C.E. McNall and G.E.J. Smith 1997. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 3, Passerines: Flycatchers through Vireos. UBC Press in cooperation with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. and B.C. Minist. Environ., Lands and Parks, Wildl. Branch. 700pp.

Carter, M., G. Fenwick, C. Hunter, D. Pashley, D. Petit, J. Price, and J. Trapp. 1996. Watchlist 1996: For the future. Field Notes 50(3):238-240.

Godfrey, W.E. 1966. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada. Ottawa. 428 pp.

Hagan, J. M., III, and D. W. Johnston, editors. 1992. Ecology and conservation of neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. xiii + 609 pp.

Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.

Hilty, S.L. and W. L. Brown. 1986. A Guide to the Birds of Colombia. Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA. 836 pp.

National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.

Oberholser, H.C. 1974. The bird life of Texas. 2 vols. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin.

Sauer, J.R., and S. Droege. 1992. Geographical patterns in population trends of Neotropical migrants in North America. Pages 26-42 in J.M. Hagan, III, and D.W. Johnston, editors. Ecology and conservation of Neotropical migrant landbirds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Stiles, F. G. and A. F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, USA. 511 pp.

Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2009. Species Summary: Contopus sordidulus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Nov 9, 2026).

BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary

Contopus sordidulus Western Wood-Pewee

Suggested Citation:

Contopus sordidulus
Western Wood-Pewee