Adult. Photo: Andrew Weitzel/Flickr (CC-BY-SA-2.0)
Empidonax traillii
| Conservation status | Has declined in some areas with loss of streamside habitat. The race that nests along streams in the southwest is now considered threatened or endangered. |
|---|---|
| Family | Tyrant Flycatchers |
| Habitat | Bushes, willow thickets, brushy fields, upland copses. Breeds in thickets of deciduous trees and shrubs, especially willows, or along woodland edges. Often near streams or marshes (especially in southern part of range), but may be found in drier habitats than Alder Flycatcher. Winters around clearings and second growth in the tropics, especially near water. |
Forages by watching from a perch and then flying out to catch insects. Usually forages from perches within tall shrubs or low trees; catches insects in mid-air, or takes them from foliage while hovering.
3-4. Pale buff to whitish, with brown spots concentrated toward larger end. Incubation is by female, 12-15 days. Young: Both parents bring food for nestlings. Age of young at first flight about 12-14 days.
Both parents bring food for nestlings. Age of young at first flight about 12-14 days.
Mostly insects. Differences in diet, if any, between this species and Alder Flycatcher are not well known. Apparently eats mostly insects, including wasps, bees, winged ants, beetles, flies, caterpillars, moths, true bugs, and others. Also eats some spiders, a few berries, and possibly some seeds.
Male defends nesting territory by singing (female may sing also). Courtship behavior is not well known, probably involves male actively chasing female through the trees. In some regions, Brown-headed Cowbirds often lay their eggs in nests of this species. Nest site is in a deciduous shrub or tree, especially in willow, 4-15' above the ground. Placed in a vertical or diagonal fork of a branch, or on top of a horizontal branch. Nest (built by female alone) is an open cup of grass, strips of bark, plant fibers, lined with plant down and other soft materials. Nest often has strips of plant material dangling from the bottom.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
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