Fiscal Flycatcher
Sigelus silens
A large pied flycatcher that is most commonly mistaken for Southern Fiscal. However, the upright stance and slender unhooked bill are distinctive flycatcher traits, and the pattern of white in the flight feathers and basal windows of the tail is diagnostic. The female is duller than the male. Singles and pairs frequent a variety of open country habitats, including gardens, parks, shrubland, and woodland, where they perch conspicuously and hawk insect prey from the ground or aerially. The species is mostly silent but occasionally it utters a thin high-pitched song. The similar Southern Fiscal is more robust than the Fiscal Flycatcher, with a chunky hook-tipped bill, a white V-pattern on the shoulders, and a long tail with white outer feathers.
Identification
This black and white bird gets its name from its resemblance to the northern and southern fiscal shrikes (previously considered one species, common fiscal), shrikes that in turn get the name from their black and white suit-and-tie appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’). The male may be confused with the fiscal shrikes, but the shrikes have heavy, hooked bills, white patches on the shoulder rather than the lower wing, and no white on their longer tails. The resemblance is assumed to be an example of Batesian mimicry.<p>The fiscal flycatcher is 17–20 cm in length. The adult male is black above and white below with white wing patches and white sides to the tail. The female is brown above, somewhat like an immature fiscal shrike, not black. The juvenile is like the female but duller and with brown spots and scalloping above and below.<p>The song is a weak chittering, and the alarm call is tssisk.<p>The fiscal flycatcher is larger than the male collared flycatcher, which has a white collar and lacks white wing panels.
Taxonomy
The fiscal flycatcher was previously the only member of the genus Sigelus but was moved to Melaenornis based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010.
- Scientific name
- Sigelus silens
- Authority
- (Shaw, 1809)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Sigelus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Ploceus xanthopterus
Fairly small and slim weaver with a slender bill. Breeding male is distinctive: bright yellow overall with a chestnut bib. Females, non-breeding males, and juveniles are much duller but show streaking on the back and (usually) a pale base to the dark bill. Found mainly in wetlands, though they will range into drier surrounding country. Almost always in flocks. Vocalizations are typical of weavers: “chek” notes and a sizzling, “radio static” song. Plumages other than breeding male can be hard to separate from other weavers, but they can be cautiously identified by the pale base of the bill, wetland habitat, and overall size and shape.
Atlas Wheatear
Oenanthe seebohmi
Small thrush-like bird with distinctive black-and-white tail pattern that is striking in flight. Breeding male has a black face, throat and wing, gray back and crown, and white underparts. Breeding female is duller, with a brownish crown and back, and usually a speckled blackish face and throat. Nonbreeding and immature birds are duller overall, though males retain their distinctive black throat. Breeds in the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa, in areas of bare rock and short grass. Migrates south into the Sahel, where it spends the non-breeding season in a variety of open habitats such as grasslands and barren rocky plains. Tends to stay on the ground or on low perches. Jumbled-sounding song is quite variable, often including whistles, trills, and mimicry. Similar in appearance to Northern Wheatear, though male Atlas Wheatear is usually separated by its black throat. Separating females during migration and on the wintering grounds is usually difficult. Female Atlas Wheatear has a black “wingpit” and front part of the underwing, but this is hard to see in the field.
Gould's Inca
Coeligena inca
Striking hummingbird that inhabits Andean cloud forest from southern Peru to Bolivia. Both sexes have an orange collar that extends almost all the way around the back of the neck as well as white outer tail feathers and a long, straight bill. Male’s head is black with a sapphire forehead spot. Female might be confused with female Violet-throated Starfrontlet if seen poorly, but note the orange collar and white (not buff) tail markings. Visits feeders in some areas. Formerly treated as a subspecies group of Collared Inca.
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