Blackish Pewee Contopus nigrescens

Blackish Pewee exhibits a highly disjunct distribution. It occurs locally on the east slope of the Andes from Ecuador southwards to central Peru, where it is recorded at altitudes between 400 and 1500 m. There is another, equally patchy, area of distribution that extends from southern Guyana and northeastern Amazonian Brazil to as far south as southern Pará, in which part of its range the Blackish Pewee also prefers upland regions. This species shares the distinction, with White-throated Pewee (Contopus albogularis), of being the darkest-colored of the small pewees, being sooty gray to blackish throughout, except for the paler lores and narrow white eyering. Blackish Pewee is at most locally common, and over most of its range is usually considered to be rare. It inhabits the canopy and midstory of humid forest, sometimes along streams or around clearings, and typically is encountered in pairs.