Broad-billed Flycatcher
Myiagra ruficollis
A long-tailed, slender songbird with fine bill. Adult rich blue-gray above, white below, with an orange throat and chest. Tail feathers are different lengths, creating staggered pattern; compare to Leaden Flycatcher, with tail feathers of roughly the same length. Inhabits mangroves and coastal forests, where it captures insects by gleaning and flycatching.
Identification
In northern Australia, the broad-billed flycatcher is commonly found in moist forests and scrub surrounding permanent and seasonal fresh water areas such as billabongs and wet season marshes. Its size ranges from 14 to 17 cm. The bird feeds in the forest canopy on insects and small invertebrates. Unlike co-resident related species such as the paperbark flycatcher (M. nana) the broad-billed flycatcher is rarely seen hawking for insects in open areas outside the canopy.
Taxonomy
The broad-billed flycatcher was originally described in the genus Platyrhynchos. The name "broad-billed flycatcher" is also used as an alternate name for the Melanesian flycatcher.<p>Three subspecies are recognized:
- Scientific name
- Myiagra ruficollis
- Authority
- (Vieillot, 1818)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Genus
- Myiagra
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Blue-fronted Flycatcher
Eumyias hoevelli
Male shows an entirely blue hood, an olive back, and rufous underparts, including the belly. Female lacks the blue hood. Juvenile is brown and speckled all over. Singles and pairs inhabit the understory of mountain forest, sometimes joining mixed-species flocks. Confined to Sulawesi. Blue throat of male separates it from Sulawesi Blue Flycatcher. Brown back and rufous belly of female distinguishes her from Sulawesi Blue, Snowy-browed, and Rufous-throated Flycatchers. Frequently sings a thrush-like, melodious warble, medium in pitch, with an abrupt end.
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.
Brown-throated Parakeet
Eupsittula pertinax
Green above with paler yellowish belly and long, pointed tail. Average size for a parakeet. Distinctive brown cheek and upper breast usually quite obvious; can be trickier to see in flight. Almost always in small flocks, which feed inconspicuously on fruit in gardens, forest edges, and second growth. More obvious in flight; listen for grating, squeaky calls.
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