Great Crested Flycatcher - Ross Feldner

This flycatcher spends almost no time on the ground mainly because it cannot walk or even hop! It spends almost all its time high in the treetops chasing insects by swooping out for prey from a hunting perch with an unobstructed view and unobstructed flight paths.

It hunts high up in the tree canopy which helps cut down on direct competition. Great Crested Flycatchers prefer hunting using multiple dead branches that have foliage around them for cover.

Unlike most flycatchers it is brightly colored with a lemon yellow belly and has a “great” crest.

Often hard to see high in the tree tops it can be easily identified by his loud “weeeeep” call.

Usually seen in forests, woodlands, and wooded parks, this edge-dwelling species prefers places where wooded areas adjoin grassy places, anything that creates openings in the woods increases habitat for them, unlike the threat this poses for other bird species.

Great Crested Flycatchers are secondary cavity breeders, meaning that they must build nests in tree cavities but cannot build these cavities themselves.