Scientific Name: Empidonax virescens
Nest Type: Cup
Clutch Size: 3-5; avg. 4
Nest Location: Deciduous trees, shrubs, coniferous trees; 3-25', avg. 8-20
Food: Insects
Foraging Guild: Hawking
The Acadian Flycatcher's breeding range extends east of the Great Plains from southeastern Minnesota to Massachusetts, south to the Gulf Coast and northern
Florida (National Geographic Society 1983). In Minnesota, its breeding range includes Houston and Fillmore counties in the south, and extends north to Rice,
Hennepin, and Chisago counties (Janssen 1987). The state's first confirmed record of the species was a nesting pair discovered in July 1967 in Beaver Creek Valley
State Park, Houston County (Janssen 1987). The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has listed it as a species of special concern.
The Acadian Flycatcher is a long-distance migrant that winters from eastern Nicaragua south to northeastern South America (Ehrlich et al. 1988). In Minnesota, the
species is a rare migrant in the southeastern and east-central regions that appears during late May to early June, and leaves by late August.
The Acadian Flycatcher breeds primarily in mature, deciduous floodplain or swamp forests (Bushman and Therres 1988), but also occurs in unpastured dry forest
(Brewer et al. 1991). The species was classified as dependent on mature, hardwood forests because of its close association with these forest types (Bent 1942,
DeGraaf et al. 1991).
A high, dense canopy (Robbins 1978) and an open understory (Adams and Barrett 1976), characteristics of older, undisturbed forests, are important for foraging
and nesting. The species usually nests 1 to 8 meters high in a deciduous shrub or tree, often over a pool in a stream (Bent 1942, Bond 1957, Bushman and Therres
1988). Clutch size ranges from two to four eggs, usually three (Ehrlich et al. 1988). The Acadian Flycatcher is an insectivorous air sallier (DeGraaf et al 1985).
Habitat area may be a limitation for this species. Ambuel and Temple (1983) found that a large, contiguous forest is required for breeding birds. Robbins (1980)
estimated a minimum of 80 to 125 acres of forest to sustain a viable breeding population. Kroodsma (1984) found that the species appeared to be negatively
affected by the presence of forest edge, and Chasko and Gates (1982) reported the average nest distance from power-line corridors for the Acadian Flycatcher to be
45 meters. Based on these data, the species was classified as a forest interior species. However, because of its limited range in Minnesota, no evidence is available
on its area sensitivity in Minnesota.
Forest management practices that lead to increases in understory also may cause this species to decline (Whitcomb et al. 1977); however, some selective logging
may be tolerated by the species (Bushman and Therres 1988). The Acadian Flycatcher is also a Brown-headed Cowbird host. Increased forest fragmentation, and a
potential increase in cowbirds and predators, may be detrimental to this species (Brittingham and Temple 1983).
