TRAILLS (WILLOW) FLYCATCHER 
BREEDING RECORDS 
NESTS OR YOUNG 
@ 1950 — 
A 1900-1949 
M BEFORE 1900 
PAIRS OR SINGING 
MALES (JUNE) 
O 1950 — 
A 1900 - 1949 
C) BEFORE 1900 
| CENTRAL 
\| | <—— Empidonax 
Scale 
100 10 20 30 40 SoMiles 
a ———— es es) 
Fig. 35. — Breeding records for the Traill’s flycatcher in Illinois. 
Singing male records cover period June 1 to early July. 
central Wisconsin, and Stein (1963) suggested that the 
alder formerly nested in northern Illinois. The alder 
flycatcher may yet be found nesting in Illinois, but to 
date there is no firm proof of breeding for this species in 
the state. The presence of an alder flycatcher singing in 
Iroquois County in late June, as mentioned above, we 
have interpreted as representing late migration. One 
other observation is suggestive of alder flycatcher nesting: 
In a population of Traill’s flycatchers nesting at the edge 
of Spring Lake (Carroll County) in 1968, one nest was built 
which had the structure and appearance of a nest of the 
alder flycatcher (Fig. 36). The eggs, however, were 
typical willow flycatcher eggs, and no song of the alder 
flycatcher was heard in this population. Thus, despite the 
appearance of the nest, we concluded that it belonged to 
a willow flycatcher. 
The willow flycatcher may nest in every county in the 
state, but the breeding distribution is spotty and very 
poorly known. 
AUG 5 SEP OCT Nesting Habitats and Populations 
: inoi i ften nests in 
ded. Dash line represents counts of unidentified Empidonax In Illinois the willow flycatcher most ofte 
chers; solid heavy line represents counts of identified Traill’s shrub areas or clumps of yOungs trees. Widmann (1907) 
‘chers. described the original habitat as trees bordering rivers, 
she) 
