Willow Flycatcher
Willow FlycatcherWillow Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Silhouette: Emily Willoughby · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Denver

In 3 days <5%

58 Verified sightings at Denver
2,632 In all 42 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Willow Flycatcher

The willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii) is a small insect-eating, migrant bird of the tyrant flycatcher family native to North America. The willow flycatcher was included by the Franco-American ornithologist John James Audubon in his book The Birds of America based on a specimen collected in the "woods along the prairie banks of the Arkansas River". The section of the book containing the willow flycatcher was published in 1828. There are two variants of the plate illustrating the flycatcher. On one the binomial name is given as Muscicapa trailli and on the other as Muscicapa traillii. The latter spelling was used in 1831 by Audubon when describing the species in his Ornithological Biography that was published to accompany the plates and is now the accepted spelling. The specific epithet was chosen by Audubon to honour his friend the Scottish physician and zoologist Thomas Stewart Traill. The willow flycatcher is now one of 14 species placed in the genus Empidonax that was introduced in 1855 by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis.

There are four subspecies recognized, all of which breed in North America (including three subspecies that breed in California). At one... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song1:03

United States · 2026

© Greg Irving · XC1149493 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:37

United States · 2023

© David A. Brinkman · XC807543 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Burry phrase0:35

Canada · 2014

© Richard E. Webster · XC196034 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
2 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
3 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
5 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
7 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
8 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
9 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
11 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
12 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
13 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
14 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
15 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
16 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
17 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
18 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
19 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
21 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
22 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
23 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
24 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
25 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
26 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
27 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
28 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
29 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
30 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
31 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
32 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
33 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
34 Redwood National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
35 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
36 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
37 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
38 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
39 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
40 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
41 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
42 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
2 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
3 Chicago 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
4 New York City 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
5 Portland 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
6 Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
7 Baltimore 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Boston 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
9 Philadelphia 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
10 San Pedro Sula 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%

Closest Relatives at Denver

Pacific-slope Flycatcher
LC

Pacific-slope Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax difficilis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Least Flycatcher
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Least Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax minimus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Dusky Flycatcher
LC

Dusky Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax oberholseri

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Hammond's Flycatcher
LC

Hammond's Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax hammondii

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Gray Flycatcher
LC

Gray Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Empidonax wrightii

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Say's Phoebe
LC

Say's Phoebe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sayornis saya

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Western Kingbird
LC

Western Kingbird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tyrannus verticalis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Western Wood-Pewee
LC

Western Wood-Pewee

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Contopus sordidulus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Eastern Kingbird
LC

Eastern Kingbird

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Tyrannus tyrannus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Black Phoebe
LC

Black Phoebe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sayornis nigricans

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Olive-sided Flycatcher
LC

Olive-sided Flycatcher

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Contopus cooperi

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Eastern Phoebe
LC

Eastern Phoebe

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Sayornis phoebe

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Willow Flycatcher in Denver?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Willow Flycatcher sighting in Denver on a given day, based on 58 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 232nd most-seen of the 299 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Willow Flycatcher in Denver?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Willow Flycatcher in Denver on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Willow Flycatcher?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Willow Flycatcher sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Denver the best place to see a Willow Flycatcher?

28th of 30

Of the 30 cities where we can rate Willow Flycatcher sightings, Denver ranks 28th at under 5%. The best odds are in Vancouver (Canada, about 10%), Seattle (United States, under 5%) and Chicago (United States, under 5%).

Where does the Willow Flycatcher sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Willow Flycatcher is recorded against all the birds logged in Denver (58 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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