Eastern wood-pewee. Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
As summer wears on and temperatures go up, there’s a bird I listen for in the deep forest in our area – the Eastern Wood-Pewee. (Photo by Andy Reago and Chrissy McClarren.) This flycatcher spends its winters in South America but comes here for our protein – our bugs! Like many other flycatchers this bird is a drab, olive-gray on its head, back, wings and tail. It is pale on its under parts with a gray wash on its chest. In other words, it looks a lot like other flycatchers that come to our area.
Now, I could describe to you how the pewee is different from our most common flycatcher, the Eastern Phoebe, in that it’s slightly smaller and doesn’t bob its tail. I could tell you that it’s bigger than another common visitor, the Least Flycatcher. I could compare it to the Alder Flycatcher, which is about the same size but lives in new forest growth and scrub. I could tell you that the Eastern Wood-Pewee has a slightly broader, flatter bill that is a yellow-orange at the base of the lower mandible. But these are details that only hardcore, nutcase birders will care about or learn. Truth is, all of these flycatchers look very similar and, frankly, the best way to distinguish it is by its song.
That’s what makes the Eastern Wood-Pewee distinct. If I’m in a mature, mixed forest, I listen for the plaintive song from which it gets its name, “PEEaweee [pause] peeyoooooo”. If you’ve spent any time in our forests, chances are you’ve heard this bird. When I hear the sound, it never fails to give me a calm, peaceful sense of appreciation that goes along with a walk in the woods.
Eastern Wood-Pewees prefer openings in forests. Here, they find a perch where they can dart out and catch any insect that flies too close with a snap. Then, it returns to its perch.
Pewees, like their other flycatcher cousins, aren’t very dramatic compared to other birds. They often go unnoticed, but I like them. They are a critical component to the habitat they occupy by eating vast numbers of insects. So, the next time you are hiking in our forests, listen for its sad song, and whisper a thank you for what they do.
James Reddoch, of Albany Township and Boston, leads birding events for the Mahoosuc Land Trust. Visit Mahoosuc Land Trust at 162 North Road, Bethel, ME. To learn more visit www.mahoosuc.org. To contact James, send your emails to info@mahoosuc.org.
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