GAP Analysis Predicted Distribution Map

Dusky Flycatcher (Empidonax oberholseri)

Species Code: EMOB

Legend:
= Core Habitat
= Marginal Habitat

Breeding Range Map
The green area shows the predicted habitats for breeding only. The habitats were identified using 1991 satellite imagery, Breeding Bird Atlas (BBA), other datasets and experts throughout the state, as part of the Washington Gap Analysis Project. Habitats used during non-breeding months and migratory rest-stops were not mapped.

Metadata (Data about data or how the map was made)

Click to enlarge distribution map

Other maps & Information:

Breeding Bird Atlas
NatureMapping observations
during breeding season
NatureMapping observations
throughout the year

Dusky Flycatchers are common at lower elevations and fairly common at higher elevations in dry, open, conifer forests with shrubby understory in eastern Washington. Typical habitats include: Ponderosa Pine forests, open Lodgepole Pine forests on lava flows and in burns, open conifer forests at moderate elevations on south-facing slopes, and in sub-alpine forests near treeline. Non-breeders are reported from several lowland west-side locations.

Core zones were Ponderosa Pine, Interior Douglas-fir, Oak, Grand Fir in the Blue Mountains, and steppe zones at the perimeter of the Columbia Basin. Peripheral habitat found in Sub-alpine Fir and Alpine/Parkland zones. In steppe zones, good habitats were wetlands, all forests, and tree savanna. In the driest zones (Oak and Ponderosa Pine), good habitats were all forests and forest openings (including cuts and burns). In the Interior Douglas-fir zone, Grand Fir zone in the Blue Mountains, and Sub-alpine Fir zone, good habitats were open forest and forest openings (including cuts and sub-alpine meadows). In Alpine/Parkland, good habitats were forest patches and parkland.

The Dusky Flycatcher is found mostly in drier, more open forests than the Hammond's Flycatcher in eastern Washington. Dusky Flycatchers prefer a mix of open areas and conifer forest or open conifer forest, such as conifer forests or savannas at the edge of the forest/shrub-steppe transition; disturbed areas with a very open canopy and shrubby understory (such as on lava flows); and dry sub-alpine forests with similar characteristics. Where moisture increases and forest canopy closes, habitat becomes more preferable for Hammond's Flycatcher. At very high elevations (at and above treeline), Dusky Flycatchers are again found in open dry forests. In northeastern Washington, they are also found in aspen glades.

Translated from the Washington Gap Analysis Bird Volume by Uchenna Bright
Text edited by Gussie Litwer
Webpage designed by Dave Lester