Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)


Group	Flycatchers
Code	ABPAE32060
Order	Passeriformes
Family	Tyrannidae
Author	(Linnaeus, 1766)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	LM (definitions)
Scale	S (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	all
Eastern UP	all
Northern LP	all
Southern LP	all

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

1st alternative:
      (Oak (Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Assorted Hardwoods (Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Northern Hardwoods (Lg Saw or Uneven))
   containing:
      Stand/Gap Openings

2nd alternative:
      (Oak (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Assorted Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Northern Hardwoods (Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
   adjacent to:
      Edge

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	YES	YES	YES
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	none
Special Features	Edges, Stand (Gap) Openings

view size class definitions

Literature:

Pinkowski, B. 1991. Eastern Wood Pewee. Pages 278-279 In: R. Brewer, G. A. McPeek, and R. J. Adams, Jr. (eds.) The atlas of breeding birds of Michigan. Michigan State University Press, East Lansing. 594 pp.

Habitat: The open woodlands occupied by the pewee are sometimes characterized as forest margins or mature woodlands with incomplete canopy. Disturbed habitats are often acceptable, including those altered by lumbering or located around residential areas, parks, orchards, or roadsides. The species is also common in natural edge situations where open woodlands border ponds, streams or fields.

Throughout its range, the Eastern Wood Pewee occupies a large variety of deciduous and coniferous woodland habitats, but decided preference exists for deciduous forests. Of 188 pewees recorded by the Atlas Habitat Survey, 152 (81%) came from deciduous forests compared with 23 (12%) from mixed forests and only 4 (2%) from coniferous forests. A slight preference was noted for dry sites over mesic or especially wet sites in all forest types.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Breeding: Interiors and edges of deciduous and coniferous forests, bottomlands, uplands, farm woodlots, roadsides, parks. Seems to be strongly associated with oaks, but occurs in more northern forests as well. Probably requires predominance of hardwoods.

Kaufman, K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 675 pp.

Habitat: Woodlands, groves. Breeds in forest (mainly deciduous sometimes mixed, seldom coniferous forest). Favors margins of clearings, such as around meadows, roadsides, ponds, or small openings in forest.

Diet: Mostly insects. Feeds almost entirely on insects and other arthropods, taking only small numbers of berries. Diet in summer includes various kinds of flies, also wasps, bees, winged ants, beetles, moths, true bugs, and grasshoppers; also some spiders and millipedes.