Family:
The alder flycatcher is a small songbird with a rounded head, short wings, and a straight, broad bill. Its upperparts are greenish-olive, with two white wingbars on its dark wings. The underparts are a buffy white, with a paler throat and a dark band across the breast. The crown is a darker shade of olive-green than the back, and there is an indistinct pale eyering around its eyes. Its bill has a black upper mandible and pinkish or pale orange below. Males and females are similar.
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The alder flycatcher primarily feeds on insects, including bees, wasps, ants, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, locusts, and butterflies. It catches insects in flight through a behaviour known as hawking or picks them from tree foliage. During the winter, it sometimes supplements its diet with seeds and fruit.
The Alder Flycatcher breeds in wet boreal thickets of alder, maple, and birch, as well as shrubby bogs across Alaska, Canada, and the northeastern United States. It migrates through the eastern United States, Mexico, and Central America to spend the winter in western South America. During migration, it is commonly found along forest edges and in open fields, while in winter, it inhabits scrubby vegetation and woodland habitats.
