Northern Tropical Pewee

How to find it

Look at edges. In the humid lowlands, scan fence lines beside pasture, and wires and bushes in moist fields. A pewee seen inside forest is more likely a migrant wood-pewee than this resident. When the bird is silent, its low perch and short sallies after insects are a useful clue. Once you spot it, wait, because it tends to return to the same perch after each sally.

How to recognise it

This is a small flycatcher, about 12 to 14 cm long. Look for these marks:

A dark gray crown with a slight crest.

A thin white eye-ring.

Two thin wing bars.

A white throat and chin.

A belly that is white to yellowish white.

A bill with a dark upper half and a yellowish or orange lower half.

In Costa Rica the yellowish belly is a handy clue. The migrant wood-pewees have a gray to white belly, while this bird is slightly smaller with a yellower belly. Guides also note that its plumage looks fresher than the worn migrants at some times of year, and that its wing tip projection is shorter.

Behaviour and diet

It sits upright on a fairly open perch at the forest edge, usually no higher than mid-level. It hunts alone or in pairs and sallies out to catch prey in mid-air. It usually returns to the same perch and shivers its tail on landing.

In Costa Rica it usually perches lower than the two migrant pewees and makes short sallies after insects. One bird was seen perched in the open on a wire before it moved into a bush. Males court with a display in which they squat, jump and flick the wings and tail.

Where it lives

In Costa Rica it reaches about 1,000 m on the Caribbean slope and about 1,300 m on the Pacific side. Across its range it prefers the edges of humid lowland forest. It also uses dry forest, mangroves, pine stands, coffee and cacao plantations, and badly degraded secondary growth.

In Costa Rica one record came from moist fields with grass, weeds, bushes and scattered trees. Others come from the northern Caribbean lowlands, near Turrialba at about 590 m, Braulio Carrillo National Park, and Chachagua in Alajuela.

Similar birds

It can look like the Eastern and Western Wood Pewees, but it often has a yellower belly and a darker crest. The wood-pewees pass through Costa Rica only from August to November heading south and March to May heading north. Against the Southern Tropical Pewee, this species has a more yellowish belly, a more obvious white throat and less gray below, and its song has many more, shorter notes.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

The Spanish name on the Costa Rican list is Pibí Tropical Norteño, with Tontillo and Piguí as other names. Spanish sources also call it papamoscas tropical norteño. Before 2022 it was lumped with the Tropical Pewee, whose Costa Rican name is simply Pibí Tropical.

Status and conservation

The AOCR list marks it as a resident (R), and it is rated Least Concern, tolerant of altered and secondary habitats and found in many protected areas.

Photography tips

Find an open perch at a forest edge or along a fence, then wait there. It tends to return to the same perch after each sally, so patience usually gives a second chance at a clean view.