Empidonax alnorum
adult
The Alder Flycatcher is very similar to the Willow Flycatcher, with their songs and calls offering the best chance of certain identification; silent birds are often not separable. The sexes are similar. Adults have dull yellow-green upperparts, and pale underparts with a gray-green flush across the chest. There is a white eyering and the bill has a pinkish-orange lower mandible. The wings are dark overall but with pale edges to the inner flight feathers and two white wingbars. Juveniles are similar to adults but the wingbars are buff, not white.
The Alder Flycatcher is present as a breeding species across northern latitudes of North America from June to August. It spends the rest of the year in South America. It favors damp woodland thickets where species of alders, willows, and birches flourish, and usually perches near the tops of trees, watching for passing insects. Although the species is relatively easy to observe, separating it from the Willow Flycatcher is more of a challenge.
adult
FACT FILE
LENGTH 5.75 in (14.5 cm)
FOOD Insects and other invertebrates
HABITAT Deciduous woodland
STATUS Widespread and locally common summer visitor
VOICE Song is a harsh, repeated rrre-BEE-ah. Call is a sharp piip
