Alder Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Empidonax alnorum
At a Glance
A small bird that spends the summer catching flying insects in northern thickets. This bird and the Willow Flycatcher are so similar to each other that they were considered one species until the 1970s. The only differences apparent in the field are in their voices. However, voice is important to these birds: many other kinds of songbirds have to learn their songs, but Willow and Alder flycatchers are born instinctively knowing the voice of their own species.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Perching Birds
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Forests and Woodlands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, Tundra and Boreal Habitats
Region
Alaska and The North, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Plains, Southeast, Texas, Western Canada
Behavior
Flitter, Hovering
Population
120.000.000
Range & Identification
Migration & Range Maps
More of a long-distance migrant than Willow Flycatcher, tending to nest farther north and winter farther south. Migrates late in spring and early in fall.
Description
5-6" (13-15 cm). Large Empidonax flycatcher with greenish gray back, large bill, white throat. Eye-ring sometimes not well defined. Extremely similar to Willow Flycatcher, most safely identified by voice.
Size
About the size of a Sparrow
Color
Gray, Green, White
Wing Shape
Rounded
Tail Shape
Notched, Square-tipped
Songs and Calls
A burry fee-bee-o, rather different from the wheezy fitz-bew of the Willow Flycatcher.
Call Pattern
Falling, Flat, Undulating
Call Type
Buzz, Chirp/Chip, Whistle
Habitat
Willows, alders, brushy swamps, swales. Breeds in thickets of deciduous trees and shrubs, usually near water, as around streams, ponds, or bogs. Especially common in thickets of willows or alders. Winters in woodland edges or second growth in the tropics, especially near water.
Sign up for Audubon's newsletter to learn more about birds like the Alder Flycatcher
Behavior
Eggs
3-4, rarely 2. White, with brown spots concentrated toward larger end. Incubation is by female, 12-14 days.
Young
Both parents bring food for nestlings. Age of young at first flight about 13-14 days.
Feeding Behavior
Forages by watching from a perch and then flying out to catch insects. Usually forages from perches within tall shrubs or low trees; catches insects in mid-air, or takes them from foliage while hovering.
Diet
Mostly insects. Differences in diet, if any, between this species and Willow Flycatcher are not well known. Apparently eats mostly insects, including wasps, bees, winged ants, beetles, flies, caterpillars, moths, true bugs, and others. Also eats some spiders, a few berries, and possibly some seeds.
Nesting
Male defends nesting territory by singing. Courtship behavior is not well known, probably involves male actively chasing female through the trees. Nest site is usually low in a deciduous shrub, averaging about 2' up, usually lower than 6' above the ground. Placed in a vertical or diagonal fork in a branch. Nest (probably built by female alone) is an open cup, usually built rather loosely of grass, weeds, strips of bark, small twigs, rootlets, lined with plant down or other soft materials. Nest may have strips of grass or bark dangling from the bottom.
Climate Vulnerability
Conservation Status
Much of breeding habitat in the north is remote from effects of human disturbance. Numbers probably stable.
Climate Threats Facing the Alder Flycatcher
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.