Least Flycatcher
(Empidonax minimus)

Overview

Summary

© John Reaume
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

The Least Flycatcher nests in clustered territories across Canada, from the Yukon and Northwest Territories south to the United States border and east to Newfoundland. In Canada, Breeding Bird Survey results demonstrate a 54% decrease in the population relative to the early 1970s. With an estimated 88% of the global breeding population, Canada's responsibility for the species' conservation is very high. This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• BirdLife International / NatureServe
• North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1970-2016)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation

General nesting period in Canada

Conservation and management

The Least Flycatcher, which forages mainly on flying insects, tends to have higher pesticide burdens than frugivores or granivores (Tarof and Briskie 2008). The species also appears sensitive to disturbance from logging activities, forest degradation caused by acid rain, and the loss of understory due to natural succession and excessive browsing by white-tailed deer (Tarof and Briskie 2008).

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.

References

• Tarof, S. and J.V. Briskie. 2008. Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Tarof, S. and J.V. Briskie. 2008. Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)