Alternative name: Ward's Shrike-Flycatcher
- Pseudobias wardi
Identification
15cm. A slender bird, resembling a Batis:
- Glossy black above
- White bar on wing-coverts
- White underside with black breastband
- Grey flanks
- Brown iris with fleshy bright blue eyering
- Greyish-blue bill with black tip
- Greyish-black legs
The female is similar but the breastband is less glossy and less clearly demarcated from the white belly. Immatures have a brownish-black breastband, a brown head with whitish streaks, no gloss above and a paler bill.
Distribution
Endemic to eastern Madagascar.
Patchily distributed.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Habitat
Rainforest and adjacent secondary forest. Occurs from sea-level up to 1800m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on insects (like hymenopterans and beetles).
Often seen at the edge of forest, hawking insects like a Paradise-Flycatcher.
Breeding
Breeding recorded in November, immatures seen in December. No other information about breeding.
A resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliot, and D Christie, eds. 2006. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553064
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Ward's Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 21 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ward%27s_Flycatcher
