Similar Species
Dusky Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatchers are best distinguished from Gray Flycatchers by behavior; they do not wag their tail down and then up like Gray Flycatchers do, instead they flick their tails upward.
© Matt Davis | Macaulay LibraryNevada, June 07, 2016Similar Species
Hammond's Flycatcher
Hammond's Flycatchers look shorter tailed than Gray Flycatchers because their primaries extend well beyond their secondaries. They also do not wag their tails down and then up like Gray Flycatchers do.
© Brian Sullivan | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 24, 2008Similar Species
Gray Vireo
Gray Vireos have thicker bills, a rounder head, and less distinct wingbars than Gray Flycatchers.
© Ryan Shaw | Macaulay LibraryArizona, August 29, 2015Similar Species
Western Wood-Pewee
Western Wood-Pewees are larger than Gray Flycatchers without an obvious eyering. Pewees tend to perch in the open and repeatedly return to the same perch while Gray Flycatchers wag their tails down and up.
© Brian Hoffe | Macaulay LibraryAlberta, June 19, 2017Main Species
Gray Flycatcher
Slim pale flycatcher. Drab gray overall with a thin eyering, a pale mark in front of the eye, and pale wingbars. The bill is long and thin.
© Brian Sullivan | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, January 25, 2008Breeds in dry woodlands and shrublands in western North America, including sagebrush and pinyon pine woodlands.
© Caleb Hawley | Macaulay LibraryCharacteristically twitches its tail up and down while perched.
© Timothy Barksdale | Macaulay LibraryArizona, February 01, 1997Small gray flycatcher with a thin bill, a thin white eyering, and paler gray wingbars.
© Dan Maxwell | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 30, 2014Generally grayer than other Empidonax flycatchers, but best recognized by habit of twitching its tail downward while perched.
© Timothy Barksdale | Macaulay LibraryArizona, February 01, 1997