# Eastern Wood-Pewee

*Contopus virens*

The Eastern Wood-Pewee is a 'sit-and-wait' predator; it spends much of its time perched motionlessly before making a sudden sally to catch an insect.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Tyrannidae › Contopus
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Deciduous and mixed forests, woodlots, and forest clearings.
- **Diet:** Insectivorous, specializing in flying insects like flies, beetles, moths, and bees.
- **Range:** Eastern United States, Southeastern Canada, Central America, Northwestern South America
- **Size:** 15 cm in length with a 23-26 cm wingspan; weighs roughly 14 grams.
- **Lifespan:** Approximately 7 years in the wild.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss and fragmentation, decline in insect populations due to pesticide use, and collisions with glass during migration.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless to humans. These birds are sensitive to disturbance during nesting; maintain a respectful distance of at least 15 feet. Use binoculars for observation to avoid causing the bird to abandon its perch or nest.

## About

The eastern wood pewee ( Contopus virens ) is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the western wood pewee ( C. sordidulus ) were formerly considered to be a single species. The two species are virtually identical in appearance, and can be distinguished most easily by their calls.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/cb6879c2-7d93-47fc-8c25-bd91ba1d0e81
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/16100
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contopus virens
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/67966814/medium.jpg (Juan Carlos Caicedo Hernández, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.