Dusky Flycatcher

Dusky Flycatcher

Empidonax oberholseri

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Vancouver

In 3 days <5%

28 Verified sightings at Vancouver
3,698 In all 14 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Dusky Flycatcher

The American dusky flycatcher (Empidonax oberholseri), or simply dusky flycatcher, is a small insectivorous passerine of the tyrant flycatcher family. The dusky flycatcher is one of many species in the genus Empidonax. These species are very similar in appearance and behavior, and they are notoriously difficult to differentiate. The best characteristics for distinguishing these species are voice, breeding habitat, and range.

Adults have olive-gray upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a noticeable medium-width white eye ring, white wing bars and a medium length tail. The breast is washed with olive-gray. The bill is mainly dark. It is a bit smaller than the American grey flycatcher and a bit larger than the Hammond's flycatcher.

The male sings a three-part song. A common call is a dry whit, similar to that of other Empidonax flycatchers. A less common call, that is possibly only given by the male, is a sad dew-hic. The scientific name commemorates the American ornithologist Harry Church Oberholser.

These birds migrate to southern Arizona and Mexico. As non-breeding residents... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:29

United States · 2026

© Scott Olmstead · XC1080776 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:29

United States · 2024

© Brian Cox · XC939825 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:53

United States · 2025

© Alex Jones · XC1023804 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
11 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
12 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
13 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
14 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Mexico City 🇲🇽 México
~10%
2 Puebla 🇲🇽 México
<5%
3 Guadalajara 🇲🇽 México
<5%
4 Salt Lake City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
5 Las Vegas 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Mesa 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Denver 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Phoenix 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Sacramento 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Dusky Flycatcher in Vancouver?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Flycatcher sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 232nd most-seen of the 252 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Dusky Flycatcher in Vancouver?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Dusky Flycatcher in Vancouver on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Dusky Flycatcher?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dusky 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.

Is Vancouver the best place to see a Dusky Flycatcher?

11th of 13

Of the 13 cities where we can rate Dusky Flycatcher sightings, Vancouver ranks 11th at under 5%. The best odds are in Mexico City (México, about 10%), Puebla (México, under 5%) and Guadalajara (México, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Dusky Flycatcher live in Vancouver?

Same genus: Empidonax

The closest relatives of the Dusky Flycatcher that you can see in Vancouver (genus Empidonax, Empidonax Flycatchers) are Pacific-slope Flycatcher (about 10%) and Willow Flycatcher (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Dusky Flycatcher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Dusky Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Vancouver (28 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.

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