Bird Guide

Western Flycatcher vs Willow Flycatcher

Western Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

Tiny11 gForest

Adults have olive-gray upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with yellowish underparts; they have a conspicuous teardrop-shaped white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. It differs only subtly from most Empidonax flycatchers in North America, but its breeding habitat and call are different. Many species of this genus look closely alike. The best ways to distinguish species are by voice, by breeding habitat, and by range.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: radrat · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Becky Matsubara · CC BY 2.0
Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii)

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Tiny13 gShrubland

Adults have brown-olive upperparts, darker on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have an indistinct white eye ring, white wing bars and a small bill. The breast is washed with olive-gray. The upper part of the bill is gray; the lower part is orangish.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: Jonathon Jongsma · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: photo credit Jim Rorabaugh/USFWS · Public domain

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Western Flycatcher and Willow Flycatcher.