Fairy Flycatcher
Stenostira scita
A small, neat, mostly blue-gray bird with a dark mask, tail, and wings, a bold white wing-stripe, and a rose-washed pale belly. Singles and pairs flit between thorn trees, bushes, thickets, and woody gullies in the Karoo. It forages actively for insects, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks, characteristically fanning its tail and drooping its wings. The Fairy Flycatcher is resident in the south of its range but is mostly a non-breeding winter visitor farther north. Its presence is often betrayed by a distinctive high-pitched phrase of short squeaky notes typically rendered as “tseee-tseeeit-zee-tzee-tzweeet” or similar.
Identification
The fairy flycatcher is 11–12 cm in length. The adult is pale grey above with a black mask through the eye and a white supercilium. The wings are black with a long white stripe, and the long black tail has white sides. The throat is white, the breast is pale grey, and the belly is white with a pinkish-grey wash to its centre. The sexes are alike, but the juvenile is browner than the adult. The eye is brown and the bill and legs are black.
Taxonomy
Genus: Stenostira; Family: Stenostiridae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Stenostira scita
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Stenostiridae
- Genus
- Stenostira
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Arafura Fantail
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Small songbird with long, pale-tipped tail, slim bill. Grayish brown above, pale below, with striking red-brown rump and white throat with black border, speckled at lower edge. Frequently cocks and fans tail. Actively forages near the ground in wetter areas with dense vegetation, including mangroves. Song is a short, descending series of high-pitched squeaks. Calls include a metallic “pink!” Previously considered the same species as the now-split “Rufous Fantail.”
Violaceous Coucal
Centropus violaceus
A large, long-tailed, thick-billed bird, entirely dark bluish-black, with pale skin around a red eye. Found in most habitats, most commonly in old-growth lowland forest. Often flushed from trackside vegetation. Otherwise inconspicuous, but regularly feeds on the ground. Similar in appearance to Pacific Koel, but significantly larger, with a dark gray instead of ivory-colored bill. Unlikely to be confused. Vocally similar to other coucals, most commonly giving a confused series of hollow booming and barking notes.
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