Willow Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) is a small insect-eating bird
of the tyrant flycatcher
family.
Adults have brown-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have an indistinct white eye ring, white wing bars and a small bill. The breast is washed with olive-grey. The upper part of the bill is grey; the lower part is orangish. At one time, this bird and the Alder Flycatcher
were considered to be a single species, Traill's Flycatcher.
Their breeding habitat is deciduous
thickets, especially willow
s and often near water, across the United States
and southern Canada
. They make a cup nest in a vertical fork in a shrub or tree.
These birds migrate
to Mexico
and Central America
, and in small numbers as far south as Ecuador
in South America
, often selecting winter habitat near water.
They wait on a perch near the top of a shrub and fly out to catch insects in flight, also sometimes picking insect
s from foliage while hovering. They may eat some berries
.
This bird's song is a sneezed fitz-bew. The call is a dry whit.
This bird competes for habitat with the Alder Flycatcher where their ranges overlap. The southwestern subspecies of this bird, (E. t. extimus) is declining due to habitat
loss and is considered to be endangered
. The San Pedro River Preserve
was purchased by the Nature Conservancy to preserve habitat for this subspecies.
The binomial commemorates the Scottish zoologist Thomas Stewart Traill
.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the tyrant flycatcher
Tyrant flycatcher
The tyrant flycatchers are a family of passerine birds which occur throughout North and South America. They are considered the largest family of birds on Earth, with more than 400 species. They are the most diverse avian family in every country in the Americas, except for the United States and...
family.
Adults have brown-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have an indistinct white eye ring, white wing bars and a small bill. The breast is washed with olive-grey. The upper part of the bill is grey; the lower part is orangish. At one time, this bird and the Alder Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
The Alder Flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.Adults have olive-brown upperparts, browner on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. The breast is washed with...
were considered to be a single species, Traill's Flycatcher.
Their breeding habitat is deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
thickets, especially willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s and often near water, across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. They make a cup nest in a vertical fork in a shrub or tree.
These birds migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and in small numbers as far south as Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, often selecting winter habitat near water.
They wait on a perch near the top of a shrub and fly out to catch insects in flight, also sometimes picking insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s from foliage while hovering. They may eat some berries
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
.
This bird's song is a sneezed fitz-bew. The call is a dry whit.
This bird competes for habitat with the Alder Flycatcher where their ranges overlap. The southwestern subspecies of this bird, (E. t. extimus) is declining due to habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
loss and is considered to be endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
. The San Pedro River Preserve
San Pedro River Preserve
The San Pedro River Preserve is a Nature Conservancy preserve in Dudleyville, Arizona.The Preserve is deeded of land along the San Pedro River acquired for the protection of Southwestern Willow Flycatcher The San Pedro River Preserve is a Nature Conservancy preserve in Dudleyville, Arizona.The...
was purchased by the Nature Conservancy to preserve habitat for this subspecies.
The binomial commemorates the Scottish zoologist Thomas Stewart Traill
Thomas Stewart Traill
Thomas Stewart Traill was a Scottish physician, chemist, mineralogist, meteorologist, zoologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence.He was the grandfather of the physicist, meteorologist and geologist Robert Traill Omond....
.