Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher

Ssp. calochrysea
Photo © by Rajiv Lather
Mussoorie Hills, India, June 2006

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

<flashmp3>Grey Headed Canary Flycatcher 20100717.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Recording by Andrew Whitehouse / Ssp. ceylonensis
Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka, July 2010.
Two summer song files of Ssp.calochrysea below :
<flashmp3>grey-headed_canary_flycatcher_alok.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Another longer song file
<flashmp3>grey-headed_canary_flycatcher_alok_2.mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
Both recordings by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal Forest, Alt. 5500 ft., Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, April-2017.

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. (2025) Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 5 February 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Grey-headed_Canary-Flycatcher

External Links

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