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32-550: The willow flycatcher ( Empidonax traillii ) is a small insect-eating, neotropical migrant bird of the tyrant flycatcher family native to North America . There are four subspecies recognized, all of which breed in North America (including three subspecies that breed in California). At one time, this bird and the alder flycatcher ( Empidonax alnorum ) were considered to be a single species, Traill's flycatcher . Their song

64-613: A perch near the top of a shrub and flying out to catch insects on the wing, but are also reported to glean insects off of leaves and stems. Neotropical In biogeography , the Neotropic or Neotropical realm is one of the eight terrestrial realms . This realm includes South America, Central America , the Caribbean Islands , and southern North America. In Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula and southern lowlands, and most of

96-573: Is a federally endangered subspecies found in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah. It was listed in 1995, when it was known to breed at only about 75 sites in riparian areas throughout the American southwest. The breeding population was estimated at between 300 and 500 pairs. Breeding occurs from near sea level on the Santa Margarita River to 800 m (2,640 ft) at

128-534: Is a sneezed fitz-bew . The call is a dry whit . Willow flycatchers are generalist insectivores, and the insects which comprise their diet vary substantially across different habitats. For example, flies of the order Diptera made up the majority of adult willow flycatcher diets in Ontario, Canada, but only composed 10.6% of the diet of California flycatchers, who instead favor Lepidopterans , mayflies , and snakeflies . They are "sit-and-wait" predators, remaining on

160-794: Is delimited by similarities in fauna or flora . Its fauna and flora are distinct from the Nearctic realm (which includes most of North America) because of the long separation of the two continents. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama joined the two continents two to three million years ago, precipitating the Great American Interchange , an important biogeographical event. The Neotropic includes more tropical rainforest ( tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests ) than any other realm, extending from southern Mexico through Central America and northern South America to southern Brazil, including

192-559: Is endemic to the Neotropic realm, occupying a larger geographic area than any other piranha species. Some fish groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: Examples of other animal groups that are entirely or mainly restricted to the Neotropical region include: According to Simberloff. as of 1984 there were a total of 92,128 species of flowering plants (Angiosperms) in the Neotropics. Plant families endemic and partly subendemic to

224-702: Is mostly covered by tropical moist broadleaf forest , including the vast Amazon rainforest , which stretches from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, and the lowland forests of the Guianas . The bioregion also includes tropical savanna and tropical dry forest ecoregions. The Central Andes lie between the Gulfs of Guayaquil and Penas and thus encompass southern Ecuador, Chile, Peru, western Bolivia, and northwest and western Argentina. Eastern South America includes

256-479: Is one of several properties along the Lower San Pedro River owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC). This property isn't open to the general public, but permission to enter may be granted for research projects and groups—contact the preserve manager. Birds here are typical of this stretch of the river—many of the birds can be found at the public access crossings along the river both north and south of

288-567: Is the only reliable method to tell them apart in the field. The binomial commemorates the Scottish zoologist Thomas Stewart Traill . The subspecies are best distinguished from each other by their songs. In addition, the four subspecies have significant genetic differences based on mitochondrial DNA analysis. Their winter ranges have been elucidated using mitochondrial DNA genetic studies of 172 birds sampled in winter combined with plumage coloration and morphological differences. The four subspecies of

320-806: The Caatinga xeric shrublands of northeastern Brazil, the broad Cerrado grasslands and savannas of the Brazilian Plateau , and the Pantanal and Chaco grasslands. The diverse Atlantic forests of eastern Brazil are separated from the forests of Amazonia by the Caatinga and Cerrado, and are home to a distinct flora and fauna. North of the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador and Colombia, a series of accreted oceanic terranes (discrete allochthonous fragments) have developed that constitute

352-518: The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event altered local flora and fauna. Much later, about two to three million years ago, South America was joined with North America by the formation of the Isthmus of Panama , which allowed a biotic exchange between the two continents, the Great American Interchange . South American species like the ancestors of the Virginia opossum ( Didelphis virginiana ) and

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384-544: The San Luis Rey River , at Camp Pendleton , the Santa Margarita River and Pilgrim, De Luz, French, and Las Flores creeks; as well as on the Santa Ynez River . In 1996, breeding was confirmed along the Arizona side of the lower Colorado River at Lake Mead Delta and at Topock Marsh . Examination of museum specimens of 578 migrating and wintering E. t. extimus indicate that Guatemala to Costa Rica constitutes

416-529: The South Fork Kern River and 910 m (3,000 ft) at upper San Luis Rey River in California and to over 2,600 m (8,530 ft) in Arizona, southwestern Colorado, and north-central New Mexico. This subspecies was described by A.R. Phillips in 1948. The largest remaining population in California is on the South Fork Kern River , Kern County . In southern California, this subspecies breeds on

448-547: The armadillo moved into North America, and North Americans like the ancestors of South America's camelids , including the llama ( Lama glama ), moved south. The long-term effect of the exchange was the extinction of many South American species, mostly by outcompetition by northern species. The Neotropical realm has 31 endemic bird families, which is over twice the number of any other realm. They include tanagers , rheas , tinamous , curassows , antbirds , ovenbirds , toucans , and seriemas . Bird families originally unique to

480-674: The temperate rain forests of the Valdivian temperate rain forests and Magellanic subpolar forests ecoregions, and the Juan Fernández Islands and Desventuradas Islands , are a refuge for the ancient Antarctic flora , which includes trees like the southern beech ( Nothofagus ), podocarps , the alerce ( Fitzroya cupressoides ), and Araucaria pines like the monkey-puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ). These rainforests are endangered by extensive logging and their replacement by fast-growing non-native pines and eucalyptus . South America

512-584: The Baudo, or Coastal, Mountains and the Cordillera Occidental. The Orinoco is a region of humid forested broadleaf forest and wetland primarily comprising the drainage basin for the Orinoco River and other adjacent lowland forested areas. This region includes most of Venezuela and parts of Colombia, as well as Trinidad and Tobago . The temperate forest ecoregions of southwestern South America, including

544-652: The Neotropic include Bromeliaceae , Cannaceae and Heliconiaceae . Plant species with economic importance originally unique to the Neotropic include: San Pedro River Preserve The San Pedro River Preserve is a Nature Conservancy preserve in Dudleyville, Arizona . The Preserve comprises 820 acres (3.3 km ) of deeded land along the San Pedro River acquired for the protection of southwestern willow flycatcher ( Empidonax traillii extimus ) habitat. There are two miles of cottonwood/willow riparian. It

576-452: The Neotropics include hummingbirds (family Trochilidae) and wrens (family Troglodytidae). Mammal groups originally unique to the Neotropics include: The Neotropical realm has 63 endemic fish families and subfamilies, which is more than any other realm. Neotropical fishes include more than 5,700 species, and represent at least 66 distinct lineages in continental freshwaters (Albert and Reis, 2011). The well-known red-bellied piranha

608-565: The Sierra/Cascade axis, from the Oregon border into Modoc County and possibly into northern Inyo County . Populations at high elevation just east of the Sierra Nevada crest but south of Modoc County are assumed to be E. t. brewsteri . There has been very little study of E. t. adastus in California. It was described by Oberholser in 1932. The southwestern willow flycatcher ( E. t. extimus )

640-668: The east and west coastlines, including the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula are Neotropical. In the United States southern Florida and coastal Central Florida are considered Neotropical. The realm also includes temperate southern South America. In contrast, the Neotropical Floristic Kingdom excludes southernmost South America, which instead is placed in the Antarctic kingdom . The Neotropic

672-613: The lower part is orangish. Their breeding habitat is deciduous thickets, especially willows and often near water, across the United States and southern Canada . They make a cup nest in a vertical fork in a shrub or tree. These neotropical birds migrate to Mexico and Central America , and in small numbers as far south as Ecuador in South America , often selecting winter habitat near water. Willow flycatchers travel approximately 1,500–8,000 km (930–4,970 mi) each way between wintering and breeding areas. This bird's song

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704-473: The main winter range. This species is experiencing population declines throughout the Southwest due to habitat loss/alteration and invasive grass species. One of these is saltcedar ( Tamarix ramosissima ), found throughout the Southwest, where it has replaced essential vegetation by outcompeting native species in riparian areas where the southwestern willow flycatcher is found. In two sites, one in Arizona and

736-410: The near-exponential expansion of urbanization , roads, pastoralism and forest industries which encroach on their customary lands and environment. Nevertheless, amidst these declining circumstances this vast "reservoir" of human diversity continues to survive, albeit much depleted. In South America alone, some 350–400 indigenous languages and dialects are still living (down from an estimated 1,500 at

768-517: The other in New Mexico, native trees were able to replace patches of saltcedar and populations of willow flycatchers increased. In these sites 90% of the willow flycatcher's nests were found in native vegetation, only 10% were in mixed vegetation (native species and saltcedar) and few were in areas dominated by saltcedar. However, because willow flycatchers can and do breed in some locations within saltcedar habitat, it occasionally serves as vital habitat in

800-580: The realm are, according to Takhtajan (1978), Hymenophyllopsidaceae , Marcgraviaceae , Caryocaraceae , Pellicieraceae , Quiinaceae , Peridiscaceae , Bixaceae , Cochlospermaceae , Tovariaceae , Lissocarpaceae ( Lissocarpa ), Brunelliaceae , Dulongiaceae , Columelliaceae , Julianiaceae , Picrodendraceae , Goupiaceae , Desfontainiaceae , Plocospermataceae , Tropaeolaceae , Dialypetalanthaceae ( Dialypetalanthus ), Nolanaceae ( Nolana ), Calyceraceae , Heliconiaceae , Cannaceae , Thurniaceae and Cyclanthaceae . Plant families that originated in

832-683: The realm into bioregions , defined as "geographic clusters of ecoregions that may span several habitat types, but have strong biogeographic affinities, particularly at taxonomic levels higher than the species level (genus, family)." Laurel forest and other cloud forest are subtropical and mild temperate forest , found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable and mild temperatures. Tropical rainforest , tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests are highlight in Southern North America, Amazonia, Caribbean, Central America, Northern Andes and Central Andes. The Amazonia bioregion

864-515: The recovery of this species. The San Pedro River Preserve was purchased by the Nature Conservancy to preserve habitat for this subspecies. NatureServe considers the subspecies Imperiled. North American beavers ( Castor canadensis ) are thought to play a critical role in widening riparian width, openings in dense vegetation, and retention of surface water through the willow flycatcher breeding season. The eastern nominate subspecies of

896-478: The time of first European contact ), in about 37 distinct language families and a further number of unclassified and isolate languages . Many of these languages and their cultures are also endangered. Accordingly, conservation in the Neotropical realm is a hot political concern, and raises many arguments about development versus indigenous versus ecological rights and access to or ownership of natural resources . The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) subdivides

928-462: The vast Amazon rainforest . These rainforest ecoregions are one of the most important reserves of biodiversity on Earth. These rainforests are also home to a diverse array of indigenous peoples , who to varying degrees persist in their autonomous and traditional cultures and subsistence within this environment. The number of these peoples who are as yet relatively untouched by external influences continues to decline significantly, however, along with

960-405: The willow flycatcher ( E. t. traillii ) was described by Audubon in 1828. It breeds from the eastern coast of the United States to the western Rocky Mountains . 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;

992-543: The willow flycatcher are: The little willow flycatcher ( E.t. brewsteri ) is the Pacific Slope subspecies of the willow flycatcher. Described by Oberholser in 1918, it breeds in California from Tulare County north along the western side of the Sierra Nevada, and in Oregon and Washington west of the Cascade range. The Great Basin/Northern Rockies subspecies of the willow flycatcher ( E. t. adastus ) breeds in California east of

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1024-480: Was originally part of the supercontinent of Gondwana , which included Africa, Australia, India, New Zealand, and Antarctica, and the Neotropic shares many plant and animal lineages with these other continents, including marsupial mammals and the Antarctic flora . After the final breakup of the Gondwana about 110 million years ago, South America was separated from Africa and drifted north and west. 66 million years ago,

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