• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Mystery Asian Flycatcher in Africa (1 Viewer)

M

Mos

Well-known member
This flycatcher was photographed in the Kruger Park in October 2003. It is unlike anything that has been seen in South Africa before, and was possibly released from a passing ship. To the best of my knowledge nobody has really supplied a convincing id.

Features: Dark throat, either black or blue. Dark lore. Glossy blue upper side with purple iridescence on the mantle and head. Purple primaries to tertials from a certain angle. Apparently a white outer tail. Pale, almost white legs.

I put the best photographs together on one image and I realise these may be insufficient.
 

Attachments

  • Mystery bird, Letaba, Kruger NP, 10-2003.jpg
    Mystery bird, Letaba, Kruger NP, 10-2003.jpg
    104.6 KB · Views: 404
Hi Mos,
Did you see this bird? I can't really bring myself to trust the blue tones in these photos, and I wish I could see at least the beak. Fat little guy - makes me think of Luscinia cyane - but who knows. Definitely would need better photos to give even a possible/probable ID for this.
 
WCS,
No, but a good thought anyway. Tail of this bird is too short, and ventrally it would be grey-white, not white as seen here. However, a Cyornis is certainly not outside the realm of the possible.
 
No, I didn't see the bird, so cannot add anything further. It didn't stay long, so nobody could learn more about it. The colours were somewhat enhanced for clarity. Thanks for the suggestions so far.
 
Cannot think of any Flycatcher in my parts of the world, it is not Slaty-blue and I don't think it is Ultramarine, either (don't see the patches on the breast). I think Tim might be onto something.
 
I'd rule out sibe blue robin because of apparently dark throat (with black too extensive on the face) and white outer tail, but the pics aren't great.
Apart from that, i'm struggling, and my recent form with flycatchers is far from good, eh Tim... ;)
 
Agree Paul - it doesn't look quite right but it is grubbing about on the deck like one - if it was behaving like one and they are very distinctive behaviour wise that would help but i'll look at a few Cyornis possibles later...

Tim
 
Can't find any Cyornis that really fit, so just to take the Luscinia idea one step further, I'll suggest a completely mad idea. It would never be a Black-Throated Blue Robin (Luscinia obscura), would it? It only breeds in a small area in central China and is on BirdLife's Red List. I know Siberian Blue's are kept as cagebirds. Could this have been imported (probably illegally) as a cage-bird and escaped? Can't find any decent pics of Black-throated, although I think the black might be more extensive and the legs a little darker.
 
I will throw in another one for you to exclude: black-throated blue warbler from N America? Should have had some black down the side just below the wing, but otherwise not too far from what I can see in this image.

Cheers
Niels
 
njlarsen said:
I will throw in another one for you to exclude: black-throated blue warbler from N America? Should have had some black down the side just below the wing, but otherwise not too far from what I can see in this image.

Cheers
Niels
Click to expand...
black-throated blue warbler would have white on the wings and the blue is too dark for it as well
 
tyrannulet said:
black-throated blue warbler would have white on the wings and the blue is too dark for it as well
Click to expand...

We were told that the colors were enhanced so exact level of blue cannot be trusted. With the white of the wing, are you sure that would not disappear in the general blurriness of these photos?

Niels
 
First thought when I saw this piccy was Blackthroat , as I recall Blackthroats are two toned as this bird seems to be , granted the black doesn't look as extensive as it should and range wise its a big no ,but escape ?
 
Swift said:
First thought when I saw this piccy was Blackthroat , as I recall Blackthroats are two toned as this bird seems to be , granted the black doesn't look as extensive as it should and range wise its a big no ,but escape ?
Click to expand...
I assume you mean the Luscinia obscura I referred to earlier, which is also known as Blackthroat?
 
I would doubt the bird is a Blackthroat Luscinia obscura, this species is virtually unknown (exact breeding sites unknown for 100 years) and just c4 sightings in the last 20 years. Luscinia's apparently aren't good in captivity.

Personally, I don't it is anything Asian that I've come across. Looking at the pictures closely, the middle right and bottom left photo shows a stubby, thick-set bill, like a finch or munia.
 
njlarsen said:
We were told that the colors were enhanced so exact level of blue cannot be trusted. With the white of the wing, are you sure that would not disappear in the general blurriness of these photos?

Niels
Click to expand...
even with the blurriness of the photo you can easily see where the wing stop and you can tell that there is no white whatsoever on the wing. the bird is also missing the black stripe down the side of the bird from its throat down to the flank.

"Glossy blue upper side with purple iridescence on the mantle and head", black-throated blue warbler has no purple tinge whatsoever.

hope you find out what it is;)
 
The suggestion that it is Asian was based on
1. its resemblance to Cyanoptila or Luscinia,
2. the religious or superstitious practice in southern Asia of releasing birds
3. its appearance in eastern South Africa, presumably from a ship in the Indian Ocean.

Besides the Indian Ocean Vangas, which it certainly isn't, there doesn't seem to be many species with this colour combination. (Thanks for the Dendroica suggestion) The photo has been checked by birders with a fair to extensive knowledge of Asian birds without a conclusive id.

The fact that it appears to move on the ground only may be an important pointer to Luscinia, at the cost of all other suggestions. I did check the black-and-white illustration of Luscinia obscura, and as unlikely as it appears to be, it comes closest.

Luscinia obscura has a short tail with extensive white on the outer tail. The black throat is more extensive than on the photo, but at least it has a black throat, not a white one like Luscinia cyane, which also doesn't show any white in the tail. Blue-and-white Flycatcher comes close, but has very limited white on the tail and is unlikely to forage on the ground. Slaty Blue, Pale Blue and Hainan Blue also differ in either throat colour, tail colour and probably in foraging habits.

I estimate the bird to be comparable in size to a House Sparrow, which is about right for the Blue Luscinias also. The photos don't show evidence for white in the wing.
 
Warning! This thread is more than 16 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Barbets48
Dali, Yunnan Trip Report, July 2021
Replies
5
Views
2K
Jon.Bryant
J
wolfbirder
A wonderful day out at Spurn, East Yorkshire
Replies
7
Views
2K
Nutcracker
Nutcracker
E
Trinovid 10x42 (2012-2015 edition) impressions
2 3
Replies
53
Views
7K
AGPank
A
A
A birding trip in Ghana with Ashanti African Tours
Replies
4
Views
2K
Adare
A
Troubador
Review of GPO Passion ED 8x32
Replies
14
Views
19K
Troubador
Troubador

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top