General

Eastern Wood-Pewee: Small flycatcher with gray-olive upperparts and pale gray underparts. Bill is dark except for yellow base of lower mandible. Wings are dark with two white bars. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has all-dark bill.

Range and Habitat

Eastern Wood-Pewee: Breeds from eastern Great Plains to the Atlantic Ocean, ranging from southern Canada (Saskatchewan to the Maritime Provinces) to northern Florida, the Gulf coast and central Texas. Spends winters in the tropics. Preferred habitats include northern hardwood, pine-oak, oak-hickory, bottomland hardwood, southern pine savannah, and midwestern forests; also found in orchards, parks, roadsides, and suburban areas.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"pee-ah-wee", "pe-e-e-e-e-e"

Interesting Facts

 The Eastern and Western Wood-Pewees are very difficult to tell apart visually. Their breeding ranges overlap in a very narrow zone in the Great Plains. Despite their similarity, no evidence has been found that the two species interbreed in that area.

 One potential cause of their decline is the overpopulation of white-tailed deer in the Eastern forests. In areas with high deer density, the intermediate canopy is disturbed by browsing, affecting the foraging space of the flycatcher.

 Though this bird sings throughout the day, listen for its ballads before dawn's light and well after sunset when this activity peaks.

 A group of pewees are collectively known as a "dribble" and a "squirt" of pewees.

Author

Gary Owen Dick