Dastardly Duos 4--Tucson Audubon Society

Other Information

SE Arizona Rare
Bird Alert
(520) 798-1005

Report Rare Birds
(520) 798-1005
Email a report

Nature Shop
(520) 629-0510

Agua Caliente Shop
(520) 760-7881

Mason Audubon
Center
(520) 744-0004

Membership
(520) 629-0757

AZ IBA Program
(520) 628-1730

Education Program
(520) 622-2230

Habitat Restoration
(520) 206-9900

Development
(520) 622-5622

Executive Director
(520) 622-5622

Tucson Audubon Society
Dastardly Duos

Greater Pewee vs. Western Wood-pewee
by Larry Liese
(Article first appeared in the Vermilion Flycatcher newsletter. To receive the newsletter in the mail, become a member of the Friends of Tucson Audubon.)

Last issue’s column tried to help with identifying Zone-tailed Hawks from Turkey Vultures. Now that summer is here, let’s pick a good duo seen most often in the middle of summer, the Greater Pewee and the Western Wood-Pewee. I’ll bet many beginning birders would have some trouble with these two. They’re a little tricky but not as bad as the really tough flycatchers. Pewees are flycatchers that are fairly dark above with lighter areas below. Both have very subdued eye rings and wing bars compared with other flycatchers. Our two pewees are best told by voice, bill color (uh-oh) and by habitat. Let’s take voice first. The Greater Pewee’s song is the famous ho-say-ma-re-ah which is unmistakable and carries quite far, the call a repeated pip. The Western has a descending peeer call that is also distinctive.

Now, bill color. This is easier than you’d think. Both have a dark upper mandible, but the Greater has an entirely orange lower mandible, while on the Western its lower bill is orange-yellow at the base, darker toward the tip.

Habitat is also key. The Greater is a high altitude woodland bird in mid-summer, generally above 5000 feet while the Western is much more common and widespread, including riparian woodlands at lower elevations.

Other visual field marks to look for are a noticeably peaked crest on the Greater, which is, as you might expect, larger than the Western. On the Western, the breast shows a whitish line down the center, not shown in many field guides. This gives the bird a “tuxedo” or open suit coat look that is also quite distinctive. I had a great comparison once with both in the same tree in lower Madera Canyon. Neat!

Bird questions? Check Birding | General questions? Contact: Tucson Audubon Society | Webmaster: Email

This page was updated on 02/21/06