Breeding Location:
Forests, coniferous, Mountains
Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Solitary nester
Breeding Population:
Fairly common, Stable
Egg Color:
White with brown and gray markings at large end
Number of Eggs:
3 - 4
Incubation Days:
12 - 13
Egg Incubator:
Female
Nest Material:
Lined with fine grass, weeds, leaves, lichen and other vegetation.
Migration:
Migratory
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Overview
Greater Pewee: Large, plump flycatcher, olive-gray upperparts, white throat, gray breast, pale yellow belly. Slender crest. Broad, flat bill is two-toned: upper mandible is dark, lower is orange. Wings and tail are dark. Short flights on rapid shallow wing beats. Sallies out to take insects in air.
Range and Habitat
Greater Pewee: Breeds from central Arizona and southwestern New Mexico southward. Spends winters mainly south of the U.S.-Mexico border. Preferred habitats include highland coniferous forests, especially pine and pine-oak.
Breeding and Nesting
Greater Pewee: Three or four white eggs, marked with brown and gray at large end, are laid in a compact, woven, grass-lined cup nest set high on a horizontal limb, secured with cobwebs and camouflaged on the outside. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.
Foraging and Feeding
Greater Pewee: Eats mostly flying insects, but also berries in winter. Sits erect, often on a treetop perch, turning its head from side to side watching for prey, which it catches in mid-air or on the ground.
Readily Eats
Meal Worms
Vocalization
Greater Pewee: Sings a functional song, used in territorial defense and mate attraction, a plaintive "ho-say ma-ree-ah."
Similar Species
Greater Pewee: Olive-sided Flycatcher has darker sides, darker bill, and white patches above the wings (not always visible). Western Wood-Pewee is smaller with a darker bill.
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