The Least Flycatchers, Empidonax minimus, (also called chebec, after the sound it makes) is a small insect-eating bird. It is the smallest Empidonax flycatcher in eastern North America.
Description:
Adults have greyish-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a conspicuous white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. The breast is washed with grey and the sides of the belly with yellow.
It is similar in appearance to the larger Eastern Wood Pewee.
Distribution / Range:
The breeding habitat of Least Flycatchers is open deciduous or mixed woods across Canada and the northern United States.
These birds migrate to Mexico and Central America. They make a cup nest on a fork in a small tree.
Diet / Feeding:
They wait on an open perch low or in the middle of a tree and fly out to catch insects in flight, also sometimes picking insects from foliage while hovering. They sometimes eat berries.
Call / Vocalization:
The song is a dry che-bec. The call is a sharp whit.
