The Western Wood-Pewee is a small flycatcher that breeds across much of western North America, including Arizona. It is gray-olive above and paler below, with faint wing bars and a dark bill, often with a slightly yellow lower mandible. In Arizona, this species is most often found in riparian corridors, mesquite bosques, pine-oak woodlands, and forest edges, particularly during spring and fall migration, though it also breeds in suitable forested habitats.
The Western Wood-Pewee is best identified by its voice. Its typical call is a buzzy “peeer,” while its song is a series of descending “tsee” notes that end with the distinctive “peeer.” The bird typically perches upright in the canopy, sallying out to catch flying insects before returning to the same perch. Its diet consists mainly of flies, wasps, bees, beetles, moths, and other small invertebrates, occasionally gleaned from foliage.
Nesting usually takes place from late spring through summer. The nest is a shallow cup of grasses, lichens, and spider silk, placed on a horizontal branch five to twelve meters above ground. The female typically lays two to three eggs, and both parents help to feed the young until fledging about two weeks after hatching.
In Arizona, Contopus sordidulus is a migratory species. It arrives from its wintering grounds in Central and South America in late April or May, and departs again by mid-October. Though still considered common and widespread, some populations show localized declines due to habitat loss.
