Great Crested Flycatcher
(Myiarchus crinitus)

Summary

Picture of bird
© Dan Busby
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Great Crested Flycatcher is a cavity nester that inhabits open deciduous and mixed woods across southeastern and central Canada. The Breeding Bird Survey indicates that the population in Canada has shown a moderate decrease since about 1970. Causes of the decline remain unclear.

Designations

Listing of the main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
IUCN (Global)Least Concern2012 
Wild Species (Canada)Secure2010 

Population status

Geographic areaStatusReliability
CanadaModerate DecreaseHigh
 

Population estimate

Canada500,000 to 5,000,000 adults
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Long-distance migrant

Responsibility for conservation of world population

CanadaLow

Conservation and management

The Great Crested Flycatcher prefers open woodlands and edges, and is therefore thought to have benefited from forest clearing and fragmentation in previous decades (Lanyon 1997). However, threats to this secondary cavity-nesting species include competition for nest sites from other cavity-nesting birds and mammals, and the elimination of dead snags through forestry and suburban forest management (Lanyon 1997).

 

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
NoneNone
 

References