• 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.

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) (1 Viewer)

Acrocephalus

Well-known member
Morocco
Viganò M. & Corso A. 2015. Morphological differences between two subspecies of Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata (Pallas, 1764) (Passeriformes Muscicapidae). Proceedings of the 2nd International Congress “Speciation and Taxonomy”, May 16th-18th 2014, Cefalù-Castelbuono (Italy). Biodiversity Journal 6: 271-284.
PDF (Open Access)

There is also a paper about Lesser Kestrel by Corso et al in this proceedings, but its link is broken now:

A quantitative morphological geographical study from a widely distributed raptor: the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni Fleischer, 1818 (Falconiformes Falconidae)
 
Interesting, thanks. I would be important to include balearica in futures studies, AFAIK balearica and tyrrhenica shares some similarities.
 
Oops, accidentally deleted...

van den Berg 2015 (Dutch Birding bird names) lists Balearic Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata tyrrhenica/balearica as 'distinct subspecies sometimes considered specifically distinct'.
 
I'm now in the Balearic and I don't find the Spotted Flycatcher here very different than those breeding in my parent's garden in Belgium... :)
 
balearica

I'm now in the Balearic and I don't find the Spotted Flycatcher here very different than those breeding in my parent's garden in Belgium... :)
Taylor 2006 (HBW 11)...
Race balearica is smaller, paler and sandier than nominate, with less streaking on crown and breast;
van Duivendijk 2011 (Advanced Bird ID Handbook)...
  • Prim-projection slightly shorter than in striata.
  • ad: Upperparts paler brown than in striata.
  • ad: Underparts almost unstreaked but with broad, faint spots.
  • Ind outside normal range not identifiable with certainty.
 
Yes, Nutcracker, today I've seen quite distinctive balearica !!! An call is distinctive too!!!

I realized when I was trying to picture a badius Woodchat Shrike, and a second one joined... and was a senator. I thought... why not striata Spotied Fly here finally????

Great !! (and great photos of Balearic Warbler today, soooo happy)
 
This picture shows a Balearic bird taken today compared to a French bird.
 

Attachments

  • Muscicapa_striata_ssp.jpg
    Muscicapa_striata_ssp.jpg
    139.5 KB · Views: 508
They ARE DIFFERENT, and believe me, they ARE identifiable in the field !

And YES the call is clinching too

Wait wait till the next work by Michele Viganò will come, with also our ID paper :smoke::smoke::king::king:B :)
 
Pons et al

Pons, Thibault, Aymí, Grussu, Muntaner, Olioso, Sunyer, Touihri & Fuchs (in press). The role of western Mediterranean islands in the evolutionary diversification of the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), a long-distance migratory passerine species. J Avian Biol. [abstract]
  • Muscicapa [striata] tyrrhenica (incl ssp balearica)
Taylor 2006 (HBW 11).
 
Last edited:
Muscicapa tyrrhenica

They ARE DIFFERENT, and believe me, they ARE identifiable in the field !

And YES the call is clinching too

Andrea knows what he is talking about:

Pons, J.-M., Thibault, J.-C., Aymí, R., Grussu, M., Muntaner, J., Olioso, G., Sunyer, J. R., Touihri, M. & Fuchs, J. (2015). The role of western Mediterranean islands in the evolutionary diversification of the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata), a long-distance migratory passerine species. Journal of Avian Biology doi: 10.1111/jav.00859 (abstract)

Ooops Richard! Posted on the same time!
 
Last edited:
Warning! This thread is more than 4 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.

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top