Eastern or Western Wood Peewee?

When I first spotted this bird, I was thrilled—it was a new one for me! But then, confusion set in. Google confidently informed me it was a Western Wood-Peewee… or maybe an Eastern Wood-Peewee. Both, apparently?

So, I took my dilemma to the birding experts on Reddit (r/whatsthisbird), where I learned that these two look identical. The only reliable way to tell them apart? Their call.

Another helpful Reddit user also pointed out that location matters, and since I’m in Wisconsin—in the eastern part of the country—that should have been my first clue, but I had (and still have) distinct clueless qualities.

For verification I headed over to the all-knowing source, eBird.

Western Wood-Pewees look nearly identical to Eastern Wood-Pewees, but their breeding ranges hardly overlap and their calls are different, the best way to separate them. ~ebird.org

Well, yup that is true. Why would a Western Wood Peewee be in the Eastern part of the state? So the right answer is: Eastern Wood Peewee.