Empidonax hammondii

A lifer flew onto my farm today!

This is Hammond's Flycatcher, a species of the genus Empidonax. These tyrant flycatchers are unique to the Americas, with around a dozen species breeding in the U.S. and Canada. They are notoriously difficult to distinguish, for in many cases plumage, voice, behavior, and range are extremely similar between species.

Hammond's in particular is readily confused with the Dusky Flycatcher, which sports basically the same coloring and a similar repertoire of vocalizations. Also, their ranges greatly overlap. They are better distinguished by the habitat in which they are observed: Hammond's prefers to perch high in conifers and Dusky flits about in low-lying chaparral scrub. In my case today neither niche was applicable--the bird was sallying for flies in a flowering tree just off the deck of the house--so I had to dig deeper. Turns out, a good way to tell the difference is by noting the length of the primary feathers relative to tail size. If the tail appears to be about half the length of the primaries (as opposed to the same length), then you've got Hammond's--and indeed I did! I'm very excited because I'd bagged Dusky years ago while working in Yosemite National Park, but this one has always eluded me.

This is only my second North American lifer this year. After birding in California for over 10 years, they are harder and harder to come by. Wonderfully this one came to me today.