Eastern wood pewees (Contopus virens) are small energetic tyrant flycatchers from North America. Despite their small size these birds can be quite aggressive during the nesting period and don't hesitate to attack intruders.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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PolygynyPolygyny is a mating system in which one male lives and mates with multiple females but each female only mates with a single male.
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withThe adult Eastern wood pewee is gray-olive on the upperparts with light underparts, washed with olive on the breast. Each wing has two pale wing bars, and the primary remiges are long, giving the wingtip a slim and very pointed appearance. The upper part of the bill is dark, the lower part is yellowish. The male and the female of this species look alike.
Eastern wood pewees breed in eastern North America and migrate to Central America, the Caribbean, and the Andes region of northern South America. These birds inhabit deciduous, mixed woods, or pine plantations, orchards, riparian areas, and roadsides.
Eastern wood pewees are social birds but during the breeding season and when migrating they are solitary. Wood pewees are active during the day. When hunting they wait on a perch at a middle height in a tree and fly out to catch prey in flight, sometimes hovering to pick it from vegetation. They often perform acrobatic aerial maneuvers when trying to catch flying insects. Eastern wood pewees migrate south in late August but most often in September. They migrate quickly for most of the journey, dispersing and moving at a slower speed when approaching the breeding or wintering range. The songs of Eastern wood pewees are basically mournful whistled ''pee-a'wee'' given in a series, which gave these birds their name, and a "pe-wee" with a rising note at the end.
Eastern wood pewees have a carnivorous (insectivorous) diet. They mainly feed on small flying insects such as flies, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, and also take bugs, beetles, grasshoppers, and crickets.
Eastern wood pewees are generally monogamous and form pairs; however, some males can sometimes be polygynous and mate with two females. Eastern wood pewees breed between May through August. During the breeding season, males are territorial and defend the nesting area aggressively, often fighting with neighboring conspecifics and even pursue attacks on other species such as Least flycatchers, American robins, Chipping sparrows, or Red-eyed vireos. Eastern wood pewees construct an open cup nest made of grasses, bark, and lichen, attached to a horizontal tree branch with spider webs. The female lays 2-3 translucent-white eggs with brown flecking concentrated towards the larger end of the ovate egg. The eggs hatch in 12-14 days and both parents bring food to the altricial nestlings. The chicks typically fledge 15-17 days after hatching, often ending up on the ground during the first flight out of the nest. The adults will perch on a nearby branch and call out to the nestlings, keeping contact and providing them with food until the young are able to fly to join them.
Eastern wood pewees are not considered globally threatened, however, their numbers are declining in recent decades, possibly due to the loss of forest habitat in their winter range. It is also possible that the increase of White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the breeding range of these birds has led to a change in vegetation and associated invertebrates in the lower levels of the deciduous forests where Eastern wood pewees breed and forage.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Eastern wood pewee is 6,500,000 mature individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, but its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...