White-bellied Blue Flycatcher
Cyornis pallidipes
Dainty blue flycatcher with a habit of flicking and spreading its tail. Sky-blue male’s pale belly distinguishes him from male Nilgiri Flycatcher. Brown female has a gray head, an orange throat and chest, and a rufous tail; pale lores and dark irises give her a large-eyed appearance. Similar female Blue-throated Flycatcher lacks pale lores and instead has a paler orange chest, smaller bill, and weaker contrast between the head and back. White-bellied inhabits dense foothill forests, joining mixed-species flocks in the winter. Song is a high and quiet series of whistled and slurred notes, often given irregularly. Calls are hard rattling bursts of notes.
Identification
This flycatcher is about 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long and has a longish beak. It forages in the undergrowth in the shade of dense forest canopy where it makes aerial forays to capture insects. The male is indigo blue with ultramarine blue supercilium and forehead. The lores and face are dark grey. The belly is white and bordered by smoky grey wash. The female is olive brown above with whitish lores. The rufous throat and breast fades to white towards the belly. The female has a chestnut tail and can be told apart from other flycatchers like by the lack of the black and white tail pattern. In poor lighting and within the Palni Hills it can be confusable with the white-bellied blue robin, which however has longer legs and is more likely to be seen on the ground.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cyornis pallidipes
- Authority
- (Jerdon, 1840)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Cyornis
Range and habitat
The white-bellied blue flycatcher occurs in dense forest and sholas south from Mahabaleshwar through the Western Ghats, extending into the Nilgiris and the Biligirirangan Hills, down to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is found mainly in the hill forests from the foothills to about 1700 m in the Nilgiris.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The white-bellied blue flycatcher tends to be quiet and inactive, foraging mainly in the dark shade below the forest canopy. They have a very low song that can be heard only at close quarters. The song is a rambling series of rising and falling broken notes interspersed with clicks and squeaks. They are usually seen singly or in pairs and are often found to join mixed-species foraging flocks.<p>The breeding season is from February to September, mainly during the monsoon. The nest is a rough cup of moss neatly lined on the inside and placed low on a moss covered rock, hole in tree or mud-bank. The usual clutch is four eggs which are pale sea-green with brown spotting, denser on the broad end.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Parkesia motacilla
Brown-and-white denizen of bubbling streams and brooks. Look for white underparts with dark streaks, light buffy wash on the rear flanks, and bold white eyebrow. Stays on or near the ground, constantly bobbing its rear end up and down. Males sometime perch up high to sing. A very early migrant: arrives on the breeding grounds in eastern North America before most other warblers have even dreamed of starting migration, and arrives back on the wintering grounds as early as July or August. During the breeding season, favors fast-moving streams with lots of rocks to hop on. In the northern parts of its range, often in steep hemlock-lined ravines. Winters primarily in Middle America and the Caribbean, where it’s slightly less picky about habitat, and can be found around slower-moving water. Very similar to Northern Waterthrush, but whiter base color below, brighter pink legs, and broader white eyebrow. Also look for clean white throat (usually streaked on Northern). Best distinguished by song: several piercing clear whistles followed by a complex jumble of notes. Call note very similar to Northern: a loud, metallic chip.
Black-crowned Tityra
Tityra inquisitor
Handsome, mostly silvery gray bird of tropical lowland forest and adjacent semi-open areas with taller trees. Usually found at mid-upper levels of fruiting trees, sometimes in small groups that mix readily with the commoner Masked Tityra. Black-crowned is told from slightly larger Masked by its solidly black bill. Male is more silvery overall, with a black cap; female had brown face and smaller black cap. Tityras nest in tree cavities, that they sometimes steal from woodpeckers.
European Honey-buzzard
Pernis apivorus
Lanky raptor with a slender head and long wings with prominent “fingers.” Plumage is highly variable, but note tail pattern: pale overall with a dark tip, and two wide-spaced narrow dark bars on the basal half. Compare with the much stockier Common Buzzard, which has a shorter neck, more rounded wings, and steadier wingbeats. Adult has yellow eyes (brown on Common Buzzard). Favors forested areas with clearings and small wetlands, but migrants may occur in any habitat.
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