Dark-sided Flycatcher - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Jason Bugay Reyes
Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo, December 2008

Muscicapa sibirica

Identification

Subspecies M. s. gulmergi
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Dwarahat, Alt. 4800 ft. Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, October-2018

13-14cm (5-5½ inch)

• Dark grey brown above
• White throat
• White half collar
• Centre of lower breast and belly are white
• Buff wingbar
• Breast and flanks streaked dark grey brown
• Dark spots around center of whitish undertail coverts
• Pale sub-moustachial stripe
• Dark malar stripe
• White eyering
• Short dark bill
• Black feet

• Sexes alike
  

Juvenile

• Pale spots above
• Mottled breast
• Buff tipped wing coverts

Similar Species

There is more than a striking similarity to the Grey-streaked Flycatcher when they are darting about in the willows. But the obvious differences are the buffy wing bar rather than white of the Grey-streaked and the wing extension is considerably shorter than the Grey-Streaked. The Dark-sided is also a browner bird rather than ash-grey of the Grey-Streaked.

Immature subspecies M. s. gulmergi
Photo © by Alok Tewari
Sat Tal Forest, Alt. 5500 ft. Uttarakhand Himalayas, India, October-2018

Distribution

Asia: found in Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong
Southeast Asia: Indochina, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo, Malay Peninsula, Brunei, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Greater Sundas, Sumatra and Java.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]

• M. s. sibirica:

• South-eastern Siberia to Japan; winters to Indochina and Greater Sundas

• M. s. gulmergi:

• Western Himalayas (eastern Afghanistan to Kashmir and Garhwal)

• M. s. cacabata:

• Eastern Himalayas to south-eastern Tibet and north-eastern India; winters to southern Thailand

• M. s. rothschildi:

• Mountains of western China to northern Myanmar; winters to Malaysia and Indochina

Sub adult
Photo © by SeeToh
Panti Bird Sanctuary, Johor, Malaysia, April 2013

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest and secondary growth; forest edges up to 1,160 meters; river/Paddy areas and gardens.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes small invertebrates, flies and midges etc which are aerially hawked.

Breeding

The nest is cup-shaped nest which is built by the female. The clutch consists of 3-4 pale green eggs with red markings.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2014)
4. Wikipedia
5. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Dark-sided Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 8 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Dark-sided_Flycatcher

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