Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 5.1–6.7 in
13–17 cm - Wingspan
- 8.3–9.4 in
21–24 cm - Weight
- 0.4–0.5 oz
12–14 g
Other Names
- Trail's Flycatcher (together with Willow Flycatcher)
- Moucherolle des aulnes (French)
- Mosquero ailero, Mosquerito de charral (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Alder Flycatcher is so similar to the Willow Flycatcher that they were thought to be the same species. Song is the only definitive way to tell them apart. However, measurements of crown color with a colorimeter, together with other measures of wing shape, bill and tail, may be able to distinguish birds in the hand that are not calling.
- The Alder Flycatcher's nest is a coarse, loose cup that nearly always has material hanging off it. The nest of the Willow Flycatcher tends to be neater, with no hanging material.
- Willow and Alder flycatchers do not respond to playback of recordings of each other's songs, even where their ranges overlap.
- In an experiment on song learning, Alder Flycatchers were "tutored" with Willow Flycatcher song in the first two months of life. The next spring, the Alder Flycatchers sang normal Alder Flycatcher song.
Habitat
Scrub
Breeds in wet thickets, especially of alder, maple, and birch. Winters in early successional scrubby growth.
Food
Insects
Mostly insects, some fruit in winter.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–4 eggs
- Egg Description
- Creamy white or buff, unmarked or dotted with dark irregular markings around large end.
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless and with only small patches of olive-brown down.
Nest Description
A coarse, loose cup with material hanging off it, usually placed low in bushes.
Nest Placement
Shrub
Behavior
Flycatching
Insects caught in the air or gleaned from foliage of trees and shrubs.
Conservation
Least Concern
Common. No information on population trends.
Credits
- Lowther, P. E. 1999. Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum). In The Birds of North America, No. 446 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.