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;[[:Category:Muscicapa|Muscicapa]] caerulescens | ;[[:Category:Muscicapa|Muscicapa]] caerulescens | ||
==Identification== | ==Identification== | ||
| − | 14-16 cm. | + | 14-16 cm. A pale grey or blue-grey flycatcher of forest margins. The black loral line and the white supraloral streak which joins the narrow (but usually prominent) white eye-ring are good diagnostic features for this bird. |
| + | * elongate for a flycatcher, recalling a wheatear | ||
| + | * overall grey or brownish-grey. Often more bluish than similar species like African Grey Flycatcher | ||
| + | * loral line dark with whitish supraloral | ||
| + | * eye ring white or whitish, narrow but often prominent. Horizontally bisected | ||
| + | * throat whitish, often contrasting with grey underparts | ||
| + | * lower belly paler, becoming white in the vent area | ||
| + | * wing with pale feather fringes | ||
| + | * eye dark | ||
| + | * bill dark, frequently with paler base to the lower mandible (may appear light blue, even creamy) | ||
| + | * legs bluish grey (may be dark) | ||
==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
Sub-Saharan [[Africa]]: [[Guinea]] to south-eastern [[Somalia]], [[Angola]] and eastern [[South Africa]]. | Sub-Saharan [[Africa]]: [[Guinea]] to south-eastern [[Somalia]], [[Angola]] and eastern [[South Africa]]. | ||
[[Image:176_Ashy_Flycatcher_MM.JPG|thumb|450px|right|Subspecies ''cinereola'' <br />Photo by {{user|Morph|Morph}}<br />Keekorok Lodge, [[Masai Mara]], [[Kenya]]. Aug 2007.]] | [[Image:176_Ashy_Flycatcher_MM.JPG|thumb|450px|right|Subspecies ''cinereola'' <br />Photo by {{user|Morph|Morph}}<br />Keekorok Lodge, [[Masai Mara]], [[Kenya]]. Aug 2007.]] | ||
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
| − | + | Placed in genus ''[[:Category:Fraseria|Fraseria]]'' by Clements [[#References|[2]]]. | |
| − | * ''M. c. nigrorum'' | + | ====Subspecies==== |
| − | : | + | Clements recognises the following subspecies [[#References|[2]]]: |
| − | * ''M. c. brevicauda'' | + | * ''M. c. nigrorum'': South-eastern [[Guinea]] to [[Sierra Leone]], [[Ghana]] and [[Togo]] |
| − | : | + | * ''M. c. brevicauda'': Southern [[Nigeria]] east to southern [[South Sudan]], [[Uganda]], and extreme western [[Kenya]], south to northwestern [[Angola]] and southern [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] |
| − | * ''M. c. cinereola'' | + | * ''M. c. cinereola'': Southern [[Somalia]] to eastern [[Kenya]] and eastern [[Tanzania]] |
| − | : | + | * ''M. c. impavida'': Southern [[Zaire]] to south-western [[Angola]], far-northern [[Namibia]], northern [[Botswana]], western [[Tanzania]] and northern [[Mozambique]] |
| − | * ''M. c. impavida'' | + | * ''M. c. vulturna'': Southern [[Malawi]] to southern [[Zimbabwe]] and north-eastern [[South Africa]] |
| − | : | + | * ''M. c. caerulescens'': Extreme southern [[Mozambique]], southern [[eSwatini]] and south-eastern [[South Africa]] |
| − | * ''M. c. vulturna'' | + | [[File:African_Grey_Flycatcher_VS.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Subspecies ''brevicauda''. Photo © by {{user|volker+sthamer|volker sthamer}}<br />Pian Upe National Park, [[Uganda]], 17 January 2020]] |
| − | : | ||
| − | * ''M. c. caerulescens'' | ||
| − | : | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
==Habitat== | ==Habitat== | ||
Dry and moist forests (where it prefers forest edge and clearings) and moist savanna. | Dry and moist forests (where it prefers forest edge and clearings) and moist savanna. | ||
Revision as of 22:47, 22 September 2023
Alternative name: Ashy Alseonax
- Muscicapa caerulescens
Identification
14-16 cm. A pale grey or blue-grey flycatcher of forest margins. The black loral line and the white supraloral streak which joins the narrow (but usually prominent) white eye-ring are good diagnostic features for this bird.
- elongate for a flycatcher, recalling a wheatear
- overall grey or brownish-grey. Often more bluish than similar species like African Grey Flycatcher
- loral line dark with whitish supraloral
- eye ring white or whitish, narrow but often prominent. Horizontally bisected
- throat whitish, often contrasting with grey underparts
- lower belly paler, becoming white in the vent area
- wing with pale feather fringes
- eye dark
- bill dark, frequently with paler base to the lower mandible (may appear light blue, even creamy)
- legs bluish grey (may be dark)
Distribution
Sub-Saharan Africa: Guinea to south-eastern Somalia, Angola and eastern South Africa.
Taxonomy
Placed in genus Fraseria by Clements [2].
Subspecies
Clements recognises the following subspecies [2]:
- M. c. nigrorum: South-eastern Guinea to Sierra Leone, Ghana and Togo
- M. c. brevicauda: Southern Nigeria east to southern South Sudan, Uganda, and extreme western Kenya, south to northwestern Angola and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo
- M. c. cinereola: Southern Somalia to eastern Kenya and eastern Tanzania
- M. c. impavida: Southern Zaire to south-western Angola, far-northern Namibia, northern Botswana, western Tanzania and northern Mozambique
- M. c. vulturna: Southern Malawi to southern Zimbabwe and north-eastern South Africa
- M. c. caerulescens: Extreme southern Mozambique, southern eSwatini and south-eastern South Africa
Habitat
Dry and moist forests (where it prefers forest edge and clearings) and moist savanna.
Behaviour
The diet comprises mainly insects; hawked or taken on the ground. Also seen eating small fruit and small geckos.
Breeding
Monogamous and territorial. Both sexes build a cup-shaped nest using bark, grass, moss and rootlets (sometimes spiders web); it is placed in a shallow cavity in a tree or rock-face, or at a narrow fork between branches. Two to three cream, finely spotted eggs are laid and incubated for about 14 days. Parasitism by Klaas's Cuckoo has been recorded.
References
- Answers.com. 2008. Animal Encyclopedia: Ashy flycatcher. Downloaded 27 December 2008.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
- Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Ashy Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ashy_Flycatcher
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
