Southwestern Willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)

Kingdom: Animalia

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Tyrannidae

Listing Status:   

Where Listed: WHEREVER FOUND

Quick links: Federal Register Recovery Critical Habitat Conservation Plans Petitions Life History Other Resources

General Information

Small; usually a little less than 6 inches in length, including tail. Conspicuous light-colored wingbars. Lacks the conspicuous pale eye-ring of many similar Empidonax species. Overall, body brownish-olive to gray-green above. Throat whitish, breast pale olive, and belly yellowish. Bill relatively large; lower mandible completely pale. Best identified by vocalizations. Call a liquid, sharply whistled whit! or a dry sprrit; song a sneezy witch-pew or fitz-bew. While perched, characteristically flicks tail slightly upward.

This species is listed wherever it is found, but

• States/US Territories in which the Southwestern Willow flycatcher, Entire is known to or is believed to occur:  Arizona , California , Colorado , Nevada , New Mexico , Texas , Utah
• US Counties in which the Southwestern Willow flycatcher, Entire is known to or is believed to occur:  View All
• USFWS Refuges in which the Southwestern Willow flycatcher, Entire is known to occur:  BILL WILLIAMS RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, BOSQUE DEL APACHE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, CIBOLA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, COLORADO RIVER WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, HAVASU NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE IMPERIAL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, MAXWELL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, SAN DIEGO NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, SEVILLETA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE  ... Show All Refuges
  
• Countries in which the the Southwestern Willow flycatcher, Entire is known to occur:  Mexico
• For more information:  http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Southwes.htm

Current Listing Status Summary

Status	Date Listed	Lead Region	Where Listed
	02/27/1995	Southwest Region (Region 2)	Entire

» Federal Register Documents Most Recent Federal Register Documents (Showing 5 of 23: view all) Date Citation Page Title 01/03/2013 78 FR 343 534 Designation of Critical Habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: Final rule. 07/12/2012 77 FR 41147 41162 Designation of Revised Critical Habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: Proposed rule; reopening of comment period. 08/15/2011 76 FR 50542 50629 Designation of Revised Critical Habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: Proposed rule. 03/20/2008 73 FR 14995 14997 5-Year Reviews of 28 Southwestern Species 09/27/2007 72 FR 54922 54923 Virgin River Habitat Conservation and Recovery Program, Clark County, NV, Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) and notice of public meetings

» Recovery

Recovery Plan Information Search

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Current Recovery Plan(s)

Date	Title	Plan Action Status	Plan Status
08/30/2002	Final Recovery Plan for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher	View Implementation Progress	Final

Other Recovery Documents (Showing 4 of 4)

Date	Citation Page	Title	Document Type
03/20/2008	73 FR 14995 14997	5-Year Reviews of 28 Southwestern Species	Notice 5-year Review, Initiation
03/05/2003	68 FR 10485	Notice of Availability of the Final Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan	Notice Final Recovery Plan Availability
10/10/2001	66 FR 51683 51684	ETWP;Notice of Reopening the Comment Period for the Draft Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan for Review and Comment	Notice Doc. Availability Notice Reopen Comment
06/06/2001	66 FR 30477 30478	EWTP;Notice of Availability of the Draft Southwestern Willow Flycatcher Recovery Plan for Review and Comment	Notice Doc. Availability

» Critical Habitat

Current Critical Habitat Documents (Showing 5 of 6: view all)

Date	Citation Page	Title	Document Type	Status
01/03/2013	78 FR 343 534	Designation of Critical Habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: Final rule.	Final Rule	Final designated
08/15/2011	76 FR 50542 50629	Designation of Revised Critical Habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher: Proposed rule.	Proposed Rule	Not Required
10/19/2005	70 FR 60886 61009	Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Designation of Critical Habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)	Final Rule	Not Required
10/12/2004	69 FR 60706 60786	Proposed Designation of Critical Habitat for Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)	Proposed Rule	Not Required
07/22/1997	62 FR 39129 39147	ETWP; Final Determination of Critical Habitat for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher	Final Rule	Not Required

To learn more about critical habitat please see http://criticalhabitat.fws.gov

» Conservation Plans

Habitat Conservation Plans (HCP) (learn more) (Showing 5 of 24: view all)

HCP Plan Summaries
Cal. Dept. of Corrections Statewide Electrified Fence Project
Cedar River Watershed HCP
Clark County Multiple Species HCP (7 permittees)
Coachella Valley Multi-Species HCP
Fieldstone/La Costa & City of Carlsbad

Safe Harbor Agreements (SHA): (learn more) (Showing 5 of 9: view all)

SHA Plan Summaries
Crosswhite / EC Bar Ranch SHA
Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
Pahranagat Programmatic SHA in Lincoln County, NV
Paterson, Thomas W. and Caroline H. (Spur Ranch)
Pueblo of Santa Ana Amendment # 1

Candidate Conservation Agreements (CCA): (learn more) (Showing 1 of 1)

CCA Plan Summaries
Spring Mountains National Recreation Area

» Petitions

Most Recent Petition Findings (Showing 2 of 2)

Date	Citation Page	Title	Finding
07/23/1993	58 FR 39495 39522	ETWP; Proposed Rule to List the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher as Endangered with Critical Habitat	Notice 12 month petition finding, Warranted Proposed Critical Habitat, Critical habitat--birds Proposed Listing, Endangered
09/01/1992	57 FR 39664	ETWP; 90-Day Finding on Petition to List Southwestern Willow Flycatcher & Initiation of Status Review; 57 FR 39664	Notice 90-day Petition Finding, Substantial

» Life History

Habitat Requirements

For nesting, requires dense riparian habitats with microclimatic conditions dictated by the local surroundings. Saturated soils, standing water, or nearby streams, pools, or cienegas are a component of nesting habitat that also influcences the microclimate and density of the vegetation component. Habitat not suitable for nesting may be used for migration and foraging.

Food Habits

Primarily flying insects.

Movement / Home Range

The flycatcher is a summer breeder within its range in the United States. It is gone to wintering areas in Central America by the end of September. Nest territories are set up for breeding, and there is some site fidelity to nest territories.

Reproductive Strategy

Arrives on breeding grounds in late April to early May. Nesting begins in late May and early June, with fledging from late June to mid-August. Typically lay 3-4 eggs per clutch, laid at one day intervals and are incubated by the female for about 12 days. Young birds fledge 12-13 days after hatching. Typically only raise one brood per year; however some pairs will raise a second brood, or renest after a nest failure.

Other

Loss and degradation of dense riparian habitats are the primary habitat threat to the flycatcher. Historically, water developments that altered flows in the rivers and streams were the primary threat. Now, with riparian areas limited and re-growth difficult due to changes in flows, fire is a significant risk to remaining habitats. Human disturbances at nesting sites may result in nest abandonment.

» Other Resources

NatureServe Explorer Species Reports -- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.

ITIS Reports -- ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.

Last updated: February 15, 2013