General Description: Dusky Flycatchers (Empidonax oberholseri) are small Empidonax flycatchers with a large head, short tail, and short bill. Eye-ring expanded backwards (teardrop shape). Head and breast gray; throat light gray; belly somewhat yellowish. Bill mostly dark, including lower mandible. White outer tail feathers.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Tyrannidae, Fluvicolinae.

Favored Habitat: Pine-Fir forests.

Where to Find: During migration, Dusky Flycatchers can be found everywhere, but when you look for them, they are nowhere to be found; check Corn Creek and the Henderson BVP. These birds breed in higher-elevation forests in places like Mt. Charleston and the Sheep Range.

Comments:

Dusky, Hammond’s, and Western flycatchers pass through or breed in southern Nevada, and all look similar. Gray and Dusky give a similar "whit" call, so telling them apart by call isn't reliable. However, Gray and Dusky have the habit of moving their tails while perched. Dusky Flycatchers flick the tail upwards, while Gray dip the tail downward. Keep in mind: "Duskies Don't Dip Down," and "Gray Goes to Ground."