Alder Flycatcher

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Alder Flycatcher

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Tyrannidae
Genus:	Empidonax
Species:	E. alnorum

Binomial name

Empidonax alnorum
(Brewster, 1895)

The Alder Flycatcher, Empidonax alnorum, is a small insect-eating bird of the tyrant flycatcher family.

Adults have olive-brown upperparts, browner on the wings and tail, with whitish underparts; they have a white eye ring, white wing bars, a small bill and a short tail. The breast is washed with olive-grey. The upper part of the bill is grey; the lower part is orangish. At one time, this bird was considered to be the same species as the very similar Willow Flycatcher.

Their breeding habitat is deciduous thickets, often alders or willows, near water across Canada, Alaska and the northeastern United States. They make a cup nest low in a vertical fork in a shrub.

These birds migrate to South America, usually selecting winter habitat near water.

They wait on a perch near the top of a shrub and fly out to catch insects in flight, also sometimes picking insects from foliage while hovering. They may eat some berries and seeds.

This bird's song is a wheezed wee-bee. The call is a quick preet.

[edit] References

BirdLife International (2004). Empidonax alnorum. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 06 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern