Alder or "brown", which is also a root for the English words "elk" and another tree: "elm", a tree distantly related to the alders. With a few exceptions, alders are deciduous, and the leaves are alternate, simple, and serrated. The flowers are catkins with elongate male catkins on the same plant as shorter female catkins, often before leaves appear; they are mainly wind-pollinated, but also visited by bees to a small extent. These trees differ from the birches ("Betula", another genus in the family) in that the female catkins are woody and do not disintegrate at maturity, opening to release the
Blue-winged warbler Blue-winged warbler The blue-winged warbler ("Vermivora cyanoptera") is a fairly common New World warbler, long and weighing . It breeds in eastern North America in southern Ontario and the eastern United States. Its range is extending northwards, where it is replacing the very closely related golden-winged warbler, "Vermivora chrysoptera". The common name "blue-winged warbler" refers to the bluish-gray color of the wings that contrast with the bright yellow body of the male. The name of the genus "Vermivora" means "worm-eating". The genus used to include nine other new world warblers but now includes only the golden-winged warbler and Bachman's warbler