Empidonax difficilis
Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The western flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis) is a small insectivorous bird in the family Tyrannidae. It is native to western North America, where it breeds in the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Coast forests and mountain ranges from California to Alaska and south to central Mexico; northern populations migrate south to Mexico for the winter.
The western flycatcher was recognized as a single species until 1989, when the American Ornithologists' Union split it into two different species: the Pacific-slope flycatcher (E. difficilis) of coastal western North America and parts of the western Rocky Mountains, and the Cordilleran flycatcher (E. occidentalis) of the interior Rocky Mountains, with both species wintering in Mexico. Both species looked virtually identical to one another, with the split being based on differing breeding habitats and apparent differences in songs and calls. The split was recognized until 2023, when the American Ornithologists' Union and International Ornithological Congress again lumped both species due to a lack of consistent vocal, genetic, morphological differences and extensive hybridization across much of their range.
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| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific-slope Flycatcher sighting in Tijuana on a given day, based on 41 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 28th most-seen of the 106 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–July and September–October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Pacific-slope Flycatcher in Tijuana on a given day, against about 10% in January and November, the lowest months. Those are among Tijuana's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 55 mm in February.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pacific-slope Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 21 cities where we can rate Pacific-slope Flycatcher sightings, Tijuana has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Vancouver (Canada, about 10%) and San Diego (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Tyrannidae
The closest relatives of the Pacific-slope Flycatcher that you can see in Tijuana (family Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers) are Black Phoebe (about 80%), Cassin's Kingbird (about 30%) and Say's Phoebe (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pacific-slope Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Tijuana (41 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
