The willow flycatcher is a small insect-eating, migrant bird of the tyrant flycatcher family native to North America.
Region
North and Central America
Typical Environment
Breeds from southern Canada through much of the United States wherever suitable riparian shrublands occur. Prefers moist thickets of willow, alder, cottonwood, and other shrubs near rivers, streams, marsh edges, and beaver ponds. Winters primarily in Mexico and Central America in similar shrubby habitats and second-growth along watercourses. Often found on habitat edges and in regenerating riparian zones with dense, low to mid-story vegetation.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 2500 m
Climate Zone
Temperate
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Willow flycatchers are notoriously difficult to distinguish from other Empidonax flycatchers by sight alone and are best identified by their sharp fitz-bew song. They breed in riparian thickets and willow stands across much of North America and winter in Mexico and Central America. The Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (E. t. extimus) is a federally endangered subspecies in the United States due to riparian habitat loss and brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Summer breeding and winter ranges of willow flycatcher subspecies from USGS southwestern willow flycatcher survey protocol
Temperament
solitary and territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with frequent sallies from low perches
Social Behavior
Breeding pairs defend small riparian territories with dense shrub cover. The cup nest is placed in forks of willows or similar shrubs, typically a meter or two above ground or water. The female incubates while the male patrols and sings; nests are vulnerable to parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
A sharp, burry fitz-bew or ritz-BEW, accented on the second note. Calls include dry whit notes and a soft pre-dawn whisper song during the breeding season.
Plumage
Olive-brown upperparts with a grayish wash, pale whitish underparts with a light olive breast wash, and two pale wing bars. Feathers are smooth and neat, with minimal streaking.
Diet
Primarily takes flying insects such as flies, beetles, wasps, bees, true bugs, moths, and leafhoppers. Forages by sallying from exposed perches and occasionally by gleaning from foliage. May hover briefly to pick prey from leaves. In late summer it sometimes eats small berries when insects are scarce.
Preferred Environment
Feeds along riparian thickets, willow and alder stands, and shrubby wetland edges. Often hunts from low to mid-level perches with open flyways near water.
