Cryptic Flycatcher
Ficedula crypta
A small bird of foothill and low-elevation montane forest on Mindanao. Dark brown above with a rufous tail, a white belly, a pale gray chest, and a buffy face and throat. Forages low down or on the ground and may sit motionless for periods of time. Similar to female Little Slaty Flycatcher, but has a rufous tail, a brown throat, and black rather than orange legs. Gives a short descending trill.
Identification
EBird describes the bird as "A small bird. Dark brown above with a rufous tail, a white belly, a pale gray chest, and a buffy face and throat. Forages low down or on the ground and may sit motionless for periods of time. Similar to female Little slaty flycatcher, but has a rufous tail, a brown throat, and black rather than orange legs. Gives a short descending trill."<p>Its drab colour, low foraging areas and its habit of being perched motionless most likely makes this bird overlooked and unnoticed.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ficedula crypta
- Authority
- (Vaurie, 1951)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Ficedula
Range and habitat
Found in both primary and secondary forest. It is a mid-montane species with its altitude range of where it is seen is 600 - 1,500 meters above sea level. It is known to forage low in the tree line, often perching on the ground.<p>IUCN has assessed this bird as a least-concern species . While it has a limited range, is supposedly common in areas it is found.however the population is said to be decreasing. This is due to habitat loss due to legal and illegal logging, mining and conversion into farmlands through Slash-and-burn or other methods.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Boulder Finch
Idiopsar brachyurus
Gray finch-like bird with an oddly elongated bill. It is only found in boulder fields and other rocky areas of the high Andes, usually above treeline. Females are browner than males, and young birds are faintly streaked. Long bill and white smudge below eye distinguish it from Plumbeous Sierra Finch. Always found on or near rocks, and often perches with its head tilted upward.
Yellow-throated Serin
Crithagra flavigula
A very plain gray-brown seedeater with a pale yellow throat and a yellow rump that is conspicuous in flight. The yellow on the throat can be washed out and almost invisible. Found very locally in dry savanna, where it favors rocky hillsides. Similar to Yellow-rumped Serin, but has a yellow rather than white throat. Also similar to Reichenow’s Seedeater, but has a weaker facial pattern and a yellow throat. The song consists of simple phrases of chirps and whistles, repeated after a pause; simpler and more repetitive than songs of most seedeaters.
Plain Greenbul
Eurillas curvirostris
This greenbul is indeed unusually plain, even by the standards of greenbuls, but it does show a pale eye-ring and a throat that is slightly paler than the rest of the dusky underparts. Found in the understory and mid-story of humid forest, from low to fairly high elevations. The call is a short, dry trill. In the west, the song is a couple of whistles followed by a trill; in the east, the song is a short series of up-and-down whistles. Very similar to several other greenbul species. Best distinguished by a combination of vocalizations, size, and the contrastingly paler throat.
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