Azure-crested Flycatcher
Myiagra azureocapilla
A beautiful small flycatcher. Mostly pale whitish gray below and dark blue above. Crown and cheek vivid sky blue, throat chestnut, and bill bright red. Prefers native mature forest in hills, avoiding regrowth. Similar to Vanikoro Flycatcher, but distinguished by vivid blue head markings and reduced rufous below. Almost identical to Chestnut-throated Flycatcher, but range does not overlap. Song is a repetitive whistled “weet-weet-weet.” Calls include churring and buzzing notes.
Identification
Measuring 14 cm (5.5 in) in length, the azure-crested Flycatcher is sexually dimorphic. The male has light blue crown with slate-blue upperparts, and white underparts. The female in brown above with greyish tinged cheeks and bluish tinged crown. Unusually for the genus Myiagra the bill is bright orange instead of black.
Taxonomy
The azure-crested flycatcher was first described in 1875 by ornithologist Edgar Leopold Layard, Administrator of the Government of the Colony of Fiji at the time. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin azureus 'blue', and capillus 'of the head'. It is also commonly known as the blue-crested broadbill, or the azure-crested flycatcher.<p>It is a member of a group of birds termed monarch flycatchers. This group is considered either as a subfamily Monarchinae, together with the fantails as part of the drongo family Dicruridae, or as a family Monarchidae in its own right. They are not closely related to their namesakes either, the Old World flycatchers of the family Muscicapidae; early molecular research in the late 1980s and early 1990s revealed the monarchs belong to a large group of mainly Australasian birds known as the Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines. More recently, the grouping has been refined somewhat as the monarchs have been classified in a 'Core corvine' group with the crows and ravens, shrikes, birds of paradise, fantails, drongos and mudnest builders.<p>In 2016, two former subspecies of the azure-crested flycatcher were reclassified as a separate species, the chestnut-throated flycatcher.
- Scientific name
- Myiagra azureocapilla
- Authority
- Layard, EL, 1875
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Genus
- Myiagra
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Little Bee-eater
Merops pusillus
A small, mostly grass-green bee-eater with a canary-yellow throat separated from buff underparts by a black line across the throat. Singles and pairs occupy grassy savanna and wetland edges. They often perch lower than 1.5 m above the ground, and dart around hunting flying insects, then returning to the same small twig. Calls include a sibilant “s-lip” and other high-pitched notes. The Blue-breasted Bee-eater is slightly larger and has a white patch on the cheek. The much larger Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater has burnt orange underparts, and it prefers highland forest above 1800 m.
Cream-colored Woodpecker
Celeus flavus
Distinctive yellow woodpecker of lowland Amazonia. Bright creamy yellow overall with short creamy crest, brown wings and tail, and yellow bill; male has red moustache Usually found in seasonally flooded and swampy forested areas, but can be found outside those habitats occasionally in other forested areas. Listen for a loud, descending series of whistles: “PEE-pee-pee-peer.”
Visayan Babbler
Sterrhoptilus nigrocapitatus
A fairly small bird of lowland and foothill forest and edge; endemic to Samar, Leyte, and Bohol, though lumped with Calabarzon Babbler under “Black-crowned Babbler” by some taxonomies. Has a gray back and cheek with fine pale streaks, dark wings and tail with white outer tail feathers, white underparts, a pale rufous throat, and a black crown. Note the slender black bill. Often joins mixed-species flocks and sometimes hangs upside down while feeding. Somewhat similar to Green-backed Whistler, especially from below, but smaller, with a pale rufous throat and a black crown. Voice includes a medium-pitched “poo piuu!” with the second note downslurred.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.