What is a Flycatcher?

Flycatchers are a group of small perching birds represented by 39 species in North America and 14 in Alberta. These birds are named for their method of prey capture. Flycatchers engage in vigorous pursuits of flying insects for meals. The focus of the study is on species of the Empidonax genus. The species in this genus have always been difficult to identify because they appear so much alike. All have two wing bars, and most have an eye-ring. Habitat preferences can be helpful distinguishing among Empids. During migration though these birds are much less particular about their habitat. They are late migrants especially in the mountains. The "Western" and Yellow-bellied may not be on breeding grounds until mid-June. The songs of these Flycatchers are simple and reasonably distinct from each other. They have limited song repertoires with usually less than three or four songs and call notes, which can be learned easily. The relative absence of geographic variation in Empid song means that a recording doesn't have to be local to be a useful tool in Alberta. Flycatchers are not incredibly secretive birds as their display and foraging perches are often exposed and their territorial encounters are noisy and showy. These birds use spectacular aerobatic maneuvers to forage, catching their prey on the wing (hawking) or gleaning off leaves.

The two flycatcher species that are the focus of this study are:

"Western Flycatcher" Complex (Empidonax occidentalis, E. difficilis) Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)

Why Study Flycatchers?

The southwestern form of the Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) is considered endangered and is being studied in Colorado and adjacent states to determine habitat requirements and productivity. Key concerns for this form are loss of riparian habitat and reduced productivity from Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism.

Historical data documenting the distribution of these species in Alberta are rare. Salt and Salt (1976) note "to date Willow Flycatchers have been recorded in summer only in the Rockies and their foothills near Banff north to Jasper". The Cordilleran Flycatcher (known as the Western prior to 1989) was first discovered in Alberta in 1954 and is not known east of the foothills. In the five-year, Breeding Bird Atlas program, Semenchuk (1992) produced two confirmed and eight probable breeding records for the Willow Flycatcher. Despite suggestions in Holroyd and Van Tighem (1983) that the species was fairly common in the mountain parks, very few records were obtained during the 1986-91 atlassing period. Semenchuk notes that the status of the Cordilleran Flycatcher has not been determined and only nine confirmed records were made during the atlassing period.

Pinel et al. (1993) reviewed the status and abundance of all Alberta passerine birds through data gathered in the 1970s. They determined that the distribution of Willow Flycatchers was not well known in part as only 14 confirmed records were noted in their report through the 1970s. The Cordilleran Flycatcher was noted to be local and uncommon, only seven breeding records were noted in the decade.

McGillivray and Semenchuk (1998) comment that the distribution of the Willow is "poorly known" with few records outside the Bow Valley corridor. They listed the Cordilleran as status "species uncertain" in part because the taxonomy of this form is uncertain in Alberta with some suggestion that the Pacific-slope Flycatcher may also occur in the province. A second concern is the degree to which this species is limited by its habitat choice which may be declining along the eastern slopes.

Literature Cited:

American Ornithologists' Union. 1989. Thirty-seventh supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union, Check-list of North American birds. Auk 106:591-596.

Holroyd, G. L., and K. J. Van Tighem. 1983. The Ecological (Biophysical) Land Classification of Banff and Jasper National Parks, Vol. 3, The Wildlife Inventory. Canadian Wildlife Service, Edmonton, Alberta. 691 pp.

McGillivray, W. B., and G. P. Semenchuk. 1998. Federation of Alberta Naturalists Field Guide to Alberta Birds. Federation of Alberta Naturalists, Edmonton, Alberta.

Pinel, H. W., W. W. Smith and C. R. Wershler. 1993. Alberta Birds, 1971-1980. Vol 2. Passerines. Provincial Museum of Alberta Natural History Occasional Paper No. 20, Edmonton, Alberta.

Salt, W. R., and J. R. Salt. 1976. The Birds of Alberta with their ranges in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, Alberta.

Semenchuk, G. P., ed. 1992. The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta. Federation of Alberta Naturalists, Edmonton, Alberta.

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