Empidonax wrightii
Status: Rare casual spring and fall migrant west.
Documentation: Description: 17 May 1999 Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co (Dinsmore et al 2000, Jorgensen 2001).
Taxonomy: No subspecies are recognized (AviList 2025).
AviList (2025) uses the name American Grey Flycatcher to avoid confusion with other “grey/gray flycatchers”.
Spring: There are four accepted records:
4 May 2024 Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co ( Mlodinow, eBird.org)
17 May 1999 Oliver Reservoir, fresh spring plumage (cited above)
23 May 2022 Oliver Reservoir, video (Brogie 2023)
28 May 2024 Gotte Park, Kimball Co (Mlodinow, eBird.org).
Gray Flycatcher breeds in Colorado and Wyoming; it has undergone a “massive” range expansion northward in Wyoming, especially since about 1980 (Faulkner 2010) and might be expected to occur more often in spring and fall in Nebraska, and possibly even breed. Thus, it is not surprising that reports for Nebraska have increased markedly since about 2010, both as a result of range expansion and as observers are more familiar with the species.
As of 2011, the sole Kansas specimen was collected in Morton Co, Kansas 29 Apr 1967 (Thompson et al 2011), but eBird shows as of Dec 2022 there are now about 15 Kansas spring records. There are five “official” Colorado records, the first three in 2011 and two since, in 2017 and 2020 (CBRC). However, eBird shows numerous subsequent eastern Colorado reports (accessed Nov 2023): in spring 2022 there were nine east of the latitude of the Colorado/Wyoming border, five in 2021, four in 2020 and 13 in 2019, and of those (2019-2022, combined), 11 were at least as far east as Sidney, Cheyenne Co, Nebraska (Steven Mlodinow, personal communication).
Fall: The three sightings in 2002 at Oliver Reservoir may have been of the same bird but were at different locations there. Fall of 2002 saw easterly reports from southeast Wyoming and eastern Colorado at the same time as the 2002 sightings were made in Kimball Co, Nebraska.
24 Aug 2002 Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co (Brogie 2003)
24 Aug 2021 Oliver Reservoir (Brogie 2022)
25 Aug 2020 Old Stage Road, Scotts Bluff Co (Brogie 2021)
25 Aug 2022 Wind Springs Ranch, Sioux Co (Brogie 2023)
31 Aug 2002 Oliver Reservoir (Brogie 2003)
27 Aug 2007 Wind Springs Ranch, Sioux Co (Silcock 2007)
2 Sep 2018 Oliver Reservoir (Brogie 2019)
4 Sep 2002 Oliver Reservoir (Silcock 2002)
6 Sep 2021 Exit 1, I-80 Kimball Co (Brogie 2022)
6-7 Sep 2013 Wind Springs Ranch, Sioux Co (Silcock 2013)
18 Sep 2013 East Ash Creek, Dawes Co (Wright, eBird.org)
22 Sep 2024 Oliver Reservoir (Spaul, Kruse, eBird.org)
5 Oct 2004 Robidoux Pass, Scotts Bluff Co (Silcock 2004).
Comments: One at Oliver Reservoir, Kimball Co 22 May 2016 that was reported as wagging its tail (Silcock 2016) was not accepted by NOURC as description was “insufficient to rule out other species” (Brogie 2017). A report 2 Oct 2020 at Swanson Reservoir, Hitchcock Co was not accepted by NOURC (Brogie 2021). There were several reports of a Gray Flycatcher at Gering Cemetery, Scotts Bluff Co during the 2022 NOU Spring Meeting, but none were accepted by NOURC; another not accepted was at Wauneta, Chase Co 24 May 2022 (Brogie 2023).
Images
Abbreviations
NOURC: Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee
Literature Cited
AviList Core Team, 2025. AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025. https://doi.org/10.2173/avilist.v2025.
Brogie, M.A. 2003. 2002 (14th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 71: 136-142.
Brogie, M.A. 2017. 2016 (28th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 85: 128-142.
Brogie, M.A. 2019. 2018 (30th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 87: 96-109.
Brogie, M.A. 2021. 2020 (32nd) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 89: 139-145.
Brogie, M.A. 2022. 2021 (33rd) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 90: 113-122.
Brogie, M.A. 2023. 2022 (34th) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 91: 114-122.
Dinsmore, S.J., L. Padelford, and B. Padelford. 2000. Gray Flycatcher at Oliver Reservoir. NBR 68: 46-47.
Faulkner, D.W. 2010. Birds of Wyoming. Roberts and Company, Greenwood Village, Colorado, USA.
Jorgensen, J.G. 2001. 1999 (Eleventh) Report of the NOU Records Committee. NBR 69: 85-91.
Silcock, W.R. 2002. Fall Field Report. August-November 2002. NBR 70: 130-167.
Silcock, W.R. 2004. Fall Field report, August-November 200. NBR 72: 130-158.
Silcock, W.R. 2007. Fall Field Report, August-November 2007. NBR 75: 98-118.
Silcock, W.R. 2013. Fall Field Report, August-November 2013. NBR 81: 134-160.
Silcock, W.R. 2016. Spring Field Report, Mar 2016 to May 2016. NBR 84: 58- 85.
Thompson, M.C., C.A. Ely, B. Gress, C. Otte, S.T. Patti, D. Seibel, and E.A. Young. 2011. Birds of Kansas. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
Recommended Citation
Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2025. Gray Flycatcher (Empidonax wrightii). In Birds of Nebraska — Online. www.BirdsofNebraska.org
Birds of Nebraska – Online
Updated 17 Jul 2025