Alternative name: Blue Crested Flycatcher[1]
- Elminia longicauda
Identification
Male
- Cobalt blue upperparts and throat
- Lighter below
- Long tail
Females and immatures
- Grey
- Narrow band of blue on edges of wing and tail-feathers.
Distribution
Equatorial Africa
Western Africa: Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi
Taxonomy
Polytypic. Consists of two subspecies. Sometimes considered a superspecies with the White-tailed Blue-Flycatcher, E. albicauda.
- The alternative name Blue Crested Flycatcher may lead to confusion with Blue-crested Flycatcher, Myiagra azureocapilla.
Subspecies[1]
- E. l. longicauda:
- E. l. teresita:
Habitat
Open secondary forest, mangrove, swampy or riverine forests, and wooded savannas, cleared and abandoned fruit and cocoa plantations.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes insects which can be hawked or gleaned.
Breeding
It builds a compact, cup-shaped nest. 1-2 white eggs are laid and incubated by the female. Both parents feed the young, with assistance from nonbreeding adults or immatures in the group.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Avibase
- Answers.com
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Blue Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Blue_Flycatcher
