Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2001 21:23:16 EDT Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Matt Hafner Subject: Alder Fly ID Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Bob and others, Since I was one of the people to report Alder Flycatchers recently, so I will give some information as to how they were identified. While banding, all Alder and Willow Flys are officially submitted as Traill's Flycatcher with the specific identity placed in the remarks column. The majority of these birds show characteristics that lean towards one specie. There is also a wing formula that contains a narrow range of overlap( I think it's in Pyle). The things we look for are: Lores: Alders tend to have paler lores than Willow this time of year. Head Feathers: Alders tend to have large dark centers to all the feathers on the top of the head, while on Willow they are small or lacking. Wing bars and Tertials: Alders tend to have wingbars and tertials that are more contrasting than Willow. Back color: Alders tend to have a more olive back than Willow. Since some of these characteristics vary with age, the Adults tend to be more clear cut than the young birds. I'm am not stating that all Traill's Flycatchers can be separated using these field marks, but they can be helpful. Also, I would not try to use these characteristics in the field as lighting can be very misleading and birds are hardly ever as cooperative in the field as they are in the hand. ;) The adult birds that I have banded this year and called Alders had all of the above characteristics pointing toward Alder. Also, the wing formula measured out on the Alder side not near the overlap. For what it's worth (bird calls in the hand aren't always reliable), the first Alder called repeatedly with a "peep"-like note, that I found described by Sibley and Bent and quite unlike the "whit" of a Willow. Hope this helps. Matt Hafner Chestertown, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================