Vagrant individuals from cryptic species complexes pose a persistent challenge for accurate species identification, hindering our understanding of vagrancy in these taxa. Here, we used non-invasive sampling of fecal matter to sequence the ND2 mitochondrial gene of 2 vagrant western flycatchers observed in northeastern North America. The DNAsequence data we recovered from these vagrants fell within a clade of known Empidonax difficillis (Pacific-slope Flycatcher) haplotypes. Our work provides robust records of 2 vagrant Pacific-slope Flycatchers in the northeastern US. These findings illustrate the power of non-invasive sampling for species identification of vagrants from cryptic species complexes.
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1 December 2017
Species Identification of Vagrant Empidonax Flycatchers in Northeastern North America Via Non-Invasive DNA Sequencing
Nathan R. Goldberg,
Nicholas A. Mason
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Northeastern Naturalist
Vol. 24 • No. 4
December 2017
Vol. 24 • No. 4
December 2017