Indigo Flycatcher
Eumyias indigo
Beautiful little gem of a flycatcher. Note small dark mask, whitish belly, and iridescent aquamarine blaze on the forehead. Sexes similar. Immature birds are patchy-looking, with pale buffy spots scattered throughout the body. Compare with other blue flycatchers; note present species’ mask, size, and white belly. Forages at all levels of montane forest, often descending close to the ground or perching on posts and stumps close to paths. Can be quite tame and friendly, tolerating close approach. Joins mixed flocks. Song is a halting up-and-down series of high-pitched whistles. Calls include a dry chatter and harsh “tchak” calls.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Eumyias indigo
- Authority
- (Horsfield, 1821)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Eumyias
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Ringed Antpipit
Corythopis torquatus
Small ground-dwelling flycatcher of lowland rainforest. Very unusual appearance for a flycatcher, looking more like a tiny thrush or an antbird as it struts around the ground with its body held upright. Likes to walk on logs and tree roots in mature rainforest, making short flights up to understory vegetation to catch insects. Dull brown above and white below with broad black breast streaks. Listen for its short song with a distinctive “up-down” pattern, a whistled “wheeu, pew.”
Tawny-collared Nightjar
Antrostomus salvini
Fairly large dark nightjar of woodland, edge, and adjacent clearings in northeast Mexico. Hunts mainly from perches at forest edge, sometimes even on fence posts in rather open areas. Cryptic plumage similar to other nightjars; both sexes have rusty collar on hindneck. Male has white tail corners. Female has narrower, pale buffy tail corners. Best detected and identified by voice: a slightly burry, 2-syllable "chi-wihw," repeated. Note similar Eastern Whip-poor-will, a winter migrant, in same areas.
Mussau Triller
Lalage conjuncta
A rather long-tailed and long-winged bird with a short stubby head, similar in proportions to a small cuckooshrike. Plumage distinctively clean-cut in black and white, with mostly black upperside and white underside, broad white wing panels, and a white rump barred black. Belly often tinged with chestnut. Appears dependent on primary undisturbed forest. Often quiet, but voice reportedly includes a nasal “tchow-tchow-de-weet.”
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