Great Crested Flycatchers are secretive birds often given away by their loud call.  They are easily distinguished by their grey chest and yellow belly.  They have show an olive colored back and head, and can often be seen displaying an olive colored crest.  They also have cinnamon toned tails and wings.  The Great Crested flycatchers are sexually monochromatic in coloration, which means the males and females look quite similar.  However, in this case, the female is slightly smaller. 

Great Crested Flycatchers are found in the eastern half of the United States, as well as the southernmost part of eastern Canada, their breeding grounds.  They can be found at the southern tip of Florida as year round residents.  Within this range, they prefer deciduous woodlands over coniferous.  They are seldom found in the deep woodlands, but rather at edges or within small woodlots. 

The diet of Great Crested Flycatcher consists of mostly insects and other invertebrates, but berries and other small fruits are also consumed.  Before trees regain their foliage, Great Crested Flycatchers will eat bugs from in and around the bark of trees.  Mostly, their diet is composed of butterflies and moths caught at wing. 

Great Crested Flycatchers are not flocking birds.  They are most often alone or in a pair with its mate.  These very territorial birds that will not ignore any bird, and will chase it when it comes within their territory.  When excited, they raise their crests, chase other birds quickly away and snap their bill.  Male and females will form pair bonds, and these bonds may re-form year after year if both return to the same area.  Both sexes find a suitable nesting site which would include deep cavities in dead trees that are 15-20 feet from the ground.  The female does the majority of the nest building and the male guards closely during the production of the nest and during egg laying.  In any one particular nest, eggs usually hatch within two days of one another and within 15 days, nestlings are ready to leave.  At this stage, as Great Crested Flycatchers spend little time on the ground, fledglings are able to fly for prolonged periods of time. 

Great Crested Flycatchers can mostly be found at forest openings and clearings near waterin the summer.  To find these birds in Western New York make sure you know what their call is because they are easily found when they are heard. Places where Great Crested Flycatchers are found include many places where you can find fragmented forests including Tifft Nature Preserve, Iroquois NWR and many state parks.