Olive-Sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) lives in open woodland across North America. It feeds on insects and spiders. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
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Fascinating facts about the Olive-Sided Flycatcher
The olive-sided flycatcher holds the record for the longest migration of any flycatcher that breeds in the United States, a distinction that sets it apart from its relatives. Its seasonal journeys can span up to 7,000 miles, linking breeding territories in central Alaska with wintering sites as far south as Bolivia. This extraordinary distance underscores the species' remarkable endurance and the extensive range it must traverse each year.
Individual olive-sided flycatchers can cover as much as 7,000 miles in a single annual circuit, traveling from the high-latitude breeding grounds of central Alaska to the low-latitude wintering areas of Bolivia.
The global population of olive-sided flycatchers is estimated at about 1.9 million individuals, yet this figure conceals a steep and ongoing decline. Over the past half-century the species has lost roughly 79 % of its numbers, equating to an average annual decrease of around 3 %. This rapid contraction places the bird in the Near-Threatened category and signals serious conservation concerns across its range.
Olive-sided flycatchers build their nests on horizontal branches that can be as low as five feet above the ground, yet some individuals place them as high as 197 feet, far above most small passerines. The cup-shaped nest measures about 4.6 inches across on the outside and 2.8 inches inside, with a sturdy outer frame of twigs and a soft inner lining of grass, lichen and needles.
During the breeding season the olive-sided flycatcher prefers open forest edges that can reach elevations of up to 10,000 feet, especially in the Rocky Mountains, and these sites are always close to water. Its breeding range stretches from California and New Mexico northward to central Alaska and across much of Canada, favouring boreal and temperate coniferous forests with tall trees.
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In the misty dawn of boreal forests, the Olive-Sided Flycatcher materializes, a fleeting silhouette against the emerald canopy, its distinctive white ringed eyes gleaming like lanterns in the half-light. With an air of quiet purpose, it patrols the upper reaches of its domain, a master of aerial pursuit, its agile form weaving and darting through the air with precision, snaring unsuspecting insects in mid-flight. As it alights upon a swaying branch, its gentle, whistled melody wafts through the forest, a haunting serenade that betrays the fragility of its existence, for this elegant songster is a creature on the cusp of imperilment.
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