More often heard than seen, a great crested flycatcher is a master insect-catcher of the high canopy. Here's how to spot this bird and attract it to your yard.
Identify and Attract a Great Crested Flycatcher
Published on Jun. 26, 2025
High in the canopy of eastern forests, great crested flycatchers (Myiarchus crinitus) swoop out from their perches, snagging flying insects from the air and plucking them from twigs and leaves. These birds are rarely seen at ground level, but their distinctive call and field markings make them easy to identify when you hear or catch a glimpse of one.
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Great Crested Flycatcher vs. Other Flycatchers
The flycatcher family can be a little frustrating, as these birds often look very similar. Fortunately, the great crested flycatcher tends to stand out. Males and females look alike. They’re fairly large for songbirds, around the size of a robin, with a wingspan stretching up to 13 inches. Their upper bodies are brownish-gray with white wing bars, and when their head crest is raised, these birds are unmistakable.
“Compared to their smaller cousins of the Empidonax genus, great crested flycatchers are a splendid and easy species to identify among eastern flycatchers!” says Ryan MacLean, senior education coordinator of the Greenwich Audubon Center. “Their larger size plus the color contrast of a gray head, yellow belly, and rusty orange in the wings and tail (most easily seen in flight) makes them very distinguishable.”
This color combination is diagnostic in the East, but three related species in the West and Southwest can be very similar: brown-crested flycatcher, ash-throated flycatcher, and dusky-capped flycatcher.
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Sounds and Calls
Bird sounds courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Even though they’re fairly large, great crested flycatchers can be hard to spot since they spend nearly all their time high up among the treetops. It’s often much easier to hear them instead, since these birds can be very vocal.
Males sing at dawn with a variety of loud, whistled notes—often described as a series of rising or descending squeaks or wheezy whistles rather than a fixed melody.
Both males and females give several types of calls. The most common is a quick, rising “whee-eep” whistle, used to communicate and provide warning. When these birds are agitated, they give a short, repeated version of the whistle: “whit-whit-whit.” They make a variety of other sounds as well.
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Habitat and Range
These are birds of the high canopy, rarely seen on the ground. But they don’t need large unbroken stretches of forest to survive. In fact, they do well in marginal areas, preferring the edges of clearings and second-growth forests.
You’ll find great crested flycatchers in the summer throughout the eastern half of the U.S., stretching from southern Canada down through Texas and Florida. In the winter, they migrate south to Central America and the Caribbean, though they can be found in south Florida year-round.
Mating and Nesting Habits
Males sing loudly to attract mates, swooping down at them from above to gauge their interest. Once a pair is formed, they search for a nesting site, which can be as high as 70 feet off the ground.
“Unlike their smaller cousins who build exposed nests, great crested and other Myiarchus genus flycatchers nest in tree cavities, often in tree snags close to where they can find numerous insects,” Ryan explains. “They will even use old woodpecker holes.”
The female does most of the nest-building, while the male keeps a close watch and drives out intruders. If the cavity is very deep, the female fills it with a variety of materials like shells, bark, moss, feathers, grasses, leaves, and even hair and fur, before building the final small cup-shaped nest. This species is unique in choosing to incorporate snakeskin in their nests whenever possible (in Florida, nearly every nest contains snakeskin).
The creamy white to pale buff eggs are speckled, and take about two weeks to hatch. According to Ryan, “Egg clutch sizes can range from four to eight eggs, which after hatching are tended to by both parents. Adults will offer the chicks whole insects like dragonflies or moths, and if they reject them the parents will crush up the insects so they can eat them in smaller pieces.” The nestlings fledge when they’re around two weeks old.
What Do Great Crested Flycatchers Eat?
As their name suggests, these birds are mainly insect eaters, though they’ll dine on berries when insects are harder to find. “Most of their life is spent catching live insects including flies, bees, wasps, moths and other insects as well as spiders,” Ryan notes. “Given this diet, they provide fantastic insect control for your lawn and garden.”
Attract Great Crested Flycatchers to Your Yard
“As insectivores, these birds rarely visit bird feeders,” Ryan explains. “On occasion, they will visit feeders that provide live mealworms.” But that doesn’t mean you can’t support and even attract these flyers to your own yard.
“When insects are scarce, flycatchers will resort to berries,” Ryan continues, “Which makes planting native berry bushes in your yard such as winterberry, bayberry, or flowering dogwood beneficial to them.” Since insects are such a large part of their diet, it’s a good idea to avoid using pesticides, too. Instead, allow these birds the chance to do their part in pest control!
Here’s one more tip from Ryan: “Since great crested flycatchers are tree-cavity nesters, one very effective way people can support them is putting out nest boxes for them!” He notes that they need a larger box size and higher location than smaller birds, and recommends visiting the Project NestWatch site for full specifications.
About the Expert
Birder and environmental educator Ryan MacLean is the senior coordinator of public programs of the Greenwich Audubon Center and associated sanctuaries in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is a graduate of Bard College.
Sources:
- National Audubon Society – “Great Crested Flycatcher”
- All About Birds – “Great Crested Flycatcher Identification”
