Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

The Moss Tyrant

This elusive denizen of muskeg and boggy boreal forests spends a few short months in our region before retiring to its winter home in Mexico or Central America. Its reclusive nature and preference for thick, damp forests makes it difficult to study. As a consequence, we still know very little about the habitats of the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.

The State of Yellow-bellied Flycatchers

Regionally: Stable

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was not one of the original Mountain Birdwatch species. Data collected during the last 5 years of Mountain Birdwatch, however, show an apparently stable population.

Recent stability

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher numbers in the study area have been steady, although a slight dip was evident in 2016. Faded bars estimate the uncertainty in the estimate of abundance.

Globally: Probably Increasing

Overall, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers seem to be increasing in numbers. Data collected by the Breeding Bird Survey indicate a steady increase in the number of Yellow-bellied Flycatchers counted across Canada, where most of the population lives. The discovery of new breeding populations recently in eastern Alaska also suggests a growing global population.

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher numbers have increased across Canada according to the Breeding Bird Survey. Figure provided by Environment Canada.

Opportunities for Conservation

Scientists have not identified any specific threats to the health of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher populations. As is true of most species, the most important general threat to Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is probably habitat loss.

What We Can Do to Help

More scientific research into the natural history of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher would help us better understand the habitat features required for survival and reproduction.

Natural history highlights

Scientific name

Empidonax flaviventris

Range and habitat

The breeding range (green) of Yellow-bellied Flycatcher extends across the boreal forest of Canada, in addition to the high mountains of the northeastern United States. The species has recently been discovered nesting in eastern Alaska, too. Yellow-bellied Flycatchers winter (red) in tropical forests of Mexico and Central America.

During the breeding season, typically June and July, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers live in wet, boggy forests across Canada and in the evergreen forests of the high mountains of the northeastern United States. A breeding population was discovered recently in eastern Alaska, too. Yellow-bellied Flycatchers build their nests on or near the ground, often in clumps of moss. Indeed, this preference for mossy forests has earned them the colloquial name “moss tyrant”.

From August until May, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers live in dense, wet tropical forests from southeastern Mexico to central Panama. They are sometimes found in shade-grown coffee plantations.

Of all the mountain birds, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers spend the least amount of time in our region. Most adults are on the breeding grounds for less than 70 days! Yellow-bellied Flycatchers are an excellent example of why we have to think about the full life-cycle of a species if we want to conserve populations. For a species that spends most of its life in the tropics, protecting the northern forests in which it breeds is only part of the answer.

Migration

Yellow-bellied Flycatchers begin migrating south in August. Adults begin migrating as soon as their young reach independence. Young birds leave for migration about 3 weeks later than adults. By late August, most adults have reached their wintering grounds; young birds arrive to their tropical home by late September. The migration path is not well known; during fall migration, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers may be found anywhere between the Great Plains and the Atlantic coast.

Northbound migration begins in late April or early May. The migration north seems to follow a pathway similar to that used during fall migration.

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