Montana Field Guide

A flycatcher with brownish-olive upperparts (slightly grayer in the east), a whitish throat that contrasts with the pale olive breast, a pale yellow belly, and two light wing bars; generally lacks a conspicuous eye ring; as in other flycatchers, the bill is depressed and wide at the base (NGS 1983).

The Willow Flycatcher is generally indistinguishable from the Alder Flycatcher (E. alnorum), but tends to lack a conspicuous eye ring (Alder Flycatcher tends to have one), have a slightly longer bill, and is less green above (NGS 1983). It is reliably distinguished from the Alder Flycatcher only by voice. Its song is a sneezy fitz-bew, with the accent on the first syllable (Alder Flycatcher song is rrree-beea or fee-bee-o with the accent on the second syllable) (Kaufman 1990, McCabe 1991).

The breeding habitats of the two species differ somewhat, with Willow Flycatcher in more southern and western regions of North America and in more open habitats. The Alder Flycatcher is a more northern bird, generally breeding in shrub and alder thickets of boreal forests in the eastern U.S., Canada, and Alaska (McCabe 1991).

The Bozeman area migraton period is May 30 to June 10 with no discernible movement in fall.

Near Fortine, both eggs and young have been seen in June. Young have been seen in the nest in July in northwest Montana.