Family: Tyrannidae, Tyrant Flycatchers view all from this family

Description 5-6" (13-15 cm). Slightly smaller than a House Sparrow. Dull gray-green above, whitish below, with 2 dull white wing bars and narrow white eye ring (often not noticeable). Indistinguishable in appearance from Willow Flycatcher, and best identified by voice, breeding habitat, and nest.

Habitat Alder swamps, streamside and lakeside thickets, and second-growth forests.

Nesting 3 or 4 white eggs, finely speckled with brown, in a loose cup of grass with little or no plant down, placed in a low bush or sapling.

Range Breeds from Alaska east through Manitoba to Newfoundland and south to British Columbia, Great Lakes region, and southern New England. Winters in tropics. 

Voice   A burry fee-bee-o, rather different from the wheezy fitz-bew of the Willow Flycatcher.

Discussion These birds hunt in the airspace below the canopy of tall alders in swamps or along creeks. They sit erect on a twig, then dart out after flying insects. This species has a more northerly distribution than its close relative the Willow Flycatcher. The Alder Flycatcher came to be considered distinct from the Willow when studies revealed that the song patterns and breeding habits of these species differed. In the fall, when they do not sing, they are indistinguishable.