Southwestern Willow Flycatcher

The southwestern willow flycatcher is a federally endangered bird that breeds in dense riparian vegetation near surface water or saturated soils in the American Southwest. Their breeding habitat currently ranges from southern California, through southern Nevada, southern Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado.

One of the primary reasons for the decline of this species is the loss and degradation of suitable, native riparian habitat throughout the region. Dams, water diversion for agriculture, and groundwater pumping all have altered streamflow and thus riparian vegetation.