Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)

Identification & Behavior: ~13 cm (5.1 in). The Alder Flycatcher is mostly brownish-gray above with a grayish breast and a whitish-yellowish belly. It has a bushy round crest. The wing coverts are black with two whitish wing bars. The mandible is flesh-colored at the base. It has a vague pale eyering. It forages in second growth generally in exposed corners near the ground. It is similar to the Fuscous Flycatcher but is distinguished by having whitish wing bars, no superciliary, and by the habit of flicking the tail.

Status: The Alder Flycatcher is an uncommon and widespread boreal migrant to the lower east slope of the Andes, the Marañon Drainage, and humid and semi-deciduous forest in northwest Peru. It generally ranges to elevations of about 1200 m but occasionally occurs at higher elevations. It is expected in Peru during the months of September through April. The Alder Flycatcher also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Mosquerito de Alisos.

Sub-species: Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum), Brewster, 1895.

Meaning of Name: Empidonax: Gr. empis, empidos= gnat, mosquito and anax, anaktos= lord, master. alnorum: L. alnus= alder tree, alnorum= of the alder trees.

See more of the Family Tyrannidae