- Cyanoptila cyanomelana
Identification
16–17 cm (6¼-6¾ in).
Male has cobalt-blue upperparts, blackish head-sides, throat and breast with rest of underparts whitish.
Female has rather uniform brownish upperparts and breast with contrasting white belly and vent, whitish throat-patch and all black bill.
First-winter male resembles female but has blue wings, tail and back to uppertail-coverts.
Similar Species
Both male and first-winter male has a small whitish patch at the base of the outer tail feathers which can be used to separate it from the very similar looking Zappey's Flycatcher. This feature, however, may not be seen easily in the field as it may be obscured or covered by the primaries.
It is impossible to separate female from Zappey's Flycatcher in the field based on current knowledge.
Distribution
Asia: Russia, Siberia, China, India, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java
Taxonomy
Zappey's Flycatcher was formerly included in this species.
Subspecies
2 subspecies are currently recognized[1]:
- C. c. cyanomelana:
- Breeds Japan and southern Kuril Islands; the species winters south to Myanmar, Thailand, and the Greater Sundas
- C. c. intermedia:
Habitat
Primary rainforest, Secondary forest, parkland and occasionally gardens. Low mountains.
Behaviour
Diet
They eat small insects such as beetles, moths and bees, also larva.
Breeding
Their nest is constructed mostly from moss, and is placed in a hole under an overhanging back, a cliff crevice or among tree roots.
Movements
Migratory.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F and D Donsker (Eds). 2014. IOC World Bird Names (version 4.3). Available at http://www.worldbirdnames.org/.
- Avibase
- BF Member observations
- Birdforum thread discussing taxonomy of this species
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Blue-and-white Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Blue-and-white_Flycatcher
External Links
Search the Gallery using the scientific name:
Search the Gallery using the common name:
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
