Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher - BirdForum Opus

Plumage detail of a nesting adult
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dalhousie Hill Station, altitude 6900 feet, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, India, 1 June 2023

Culicicapa ceylonensis

Identification

12–13 cm (4¾-5 in)

• Grey head, nape and upper breast

Distribution

Asia: China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Hong Kong
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Borneo, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sundas and Bali. Pakistan, central India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 5 subspecies^[1]:

• C. c. calochrysea:

• Pakistan to northern India, southern China, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indochina

• C. c. ceylonensis:

• Southern India and Sri Lanka

• C. c. antioxantha:

• Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Borneo

• C. c. sejuncta:

• Western Lesser Sundas (Lombok and Flores)

• C. c. connectens:

• Sumba (westerm Lesser Sundas)

Habitat

Dry broad-leafed forests, both primary and secondary. They are particularly partial to wooded ravines and gorges.

Behaviour

Diet

Their diet consists of flying insects such as flies, mosquitoes, gnats and moths; also beetles and wasps.

Vocalisation

Recording © by Andrew Whitehouse / Nominate subspecies
Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, July 2010.

Two summer song files of subspecies C. c. calochrysea below :
Both recordings © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal Forest, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, April-2017.

Another longer song file

A nesting pair, agitatedly calling, due to presence of larger birds in the vicinity/ song of Verditer Flycatcher, also nesting here is also heard.
Ranikhet Hill Station, Altitude 6900 feet, Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, Western Himalayas, India, 24 June 2024.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2015)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey-headed_Canary-Flycatcher

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