Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striata
Drab brown songbird with a streaky white breast. Also note streaking on crown. Tends to perch rather upright on exposed snags and other perches, often sallying out to snatch insects and returning to the same perch (“flycatching”). Favors open mixed and deciduous woodland with clearings, as well as scrub, parkland, larger gardens, and plantations. Song is composed of high-pitched squeaky single or double notes, often with a trilled quality. Calls include high-pitched “tseet” and descending “djeer” notes.
Identification
The spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range. This is an undistinguished looking bird with long wings and tail. The adults have grey-brown upperparts and whitish underparts, with a streaked crown and breast, giving rise to the bird's common name. The legs are short and black, and the bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. Juveniles are browner than adults and have spots on the upperparts.
Taxonomy
Genus: Muscicapa; Family: Muscicapidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Muscicapa striata
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Muscicapa
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Rote Boobook
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Found only in forested areas on Rote Island, this medium-sized brown owl is physically all but identical to several closely-related species spread out across Indonesia and Australasia; fortunately, no others are present on Rote. Note the bright yellow eyes, speckled underparts, and large round head characteristic of the Boobooks. Gives a very dry, grating “grukgruk”, often in extended series and in duets. Formerly regarded as a subspecies of Southern Boobook.
Stubble Quail
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Large, strongly marked quail with pale breast/belly with heavy dark streaks. Note bold pale eyebrow. Male has orange throat contrasting with blackish breast. Typically found in drier grasslands. As a flushed bird descends to land, it often slows down in flight before dropping into cover; look carefully for a pale patch on the leading-edge of the wing as it drops.
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