Dull-blue Flycatcher
Eumyias sordidus
Largely all-blue flycatcher, with blue becoming intense on the forehead. Also note black face and pale, grayish belly. A bird of Sri Lanka’s hills and mountains, where it occurs as singles and pairs in the understory of dense, wet montane forest. Told from other largely blue songbirds, such as Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher and Black-naped Monarch, by combination of pale grayish belly and bold black marking between the bill and the eyes. Song comprises structured verses of rising and falling warbling notes, “chee-choo-choo-chewee-wee”. Also gives some short “chip” calls.
Identification
The dull-blue flycatcher (Eumyias sordidus) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. This species is an endemic resident breeder in the hills of central Sri Lanka.
Taxonomy
Genus: Eumyias; Family: Muscicapidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Eumyias sordidus
- Authority
- (Walden, 1870)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Eumyias
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
African Oystercatcher
Haematopus moquini
A plump, coastal shorebird that is glossy black in plumage with salmon-red legs and reddish eye, eye-ring, and bill. The juvenile is duller, with pink-brown bill and grayish-pink legs. Conspicuous on rocky coastlines and sandy shores, where it feeds on invertebrates like mussels, limpets, and worms. It is often first detected by its distinctive, high-pitched piping “pleek” and “peeka-peeka” alarm calls. Similar Eurasian Oystercatcher differs from African Oystercatcher by its white belly and throat.
Spectacled Owl
Pulsatrix perspicillata
Uncommon but unmistakable. Very large spectacular owl of humid evergreen forest in tropical lowlands and foothills. Often roosts at low to middle levels, usually well hidden in shady spots, and flushes easily. At night, favors open forest canopy and forest edge, but calling birds can be well hidden in foliage. Song is a resonant, pulsating series of deep hoots, sounding rather like a sheet of metal being flexed quickly; an uncommon variant call of the Mottled Owl sounds rather similar.
Cape Weaver
Ploceus capensis
A large weaver with a long, thin pointed bill. The male has a pale eye, and during the breeding season a brownish wash to the face. The female has a brown eye and an olive-brown belly. The species occupies open country, where it often breeds in mixed-species colonies over water or in large isolated trees. The chattering and rasping song is long and complex. The smaller Southern Brown-throated Weaver has a chunkier bill than Cape Weaver; its male has a better defined brown throat and its female has a white belly. African Golden-Weaver has reddish eyes, and Holub’s Golden-Weaver has an unstreaked yellowish back.
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