Blue-and-white flycatcher
| Blue-and-white flycatcher | |
|---|---|
| Blue-and-white flycatcher, male, Hokkaido, Japan | |
| Blue-and-white flycatcher, female, Japan | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Muscicapidae |
| Genus: | Cyanoptila |
| Species: | C. cyanomelana
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cyanoptila cyanomelana (Temminck, 1829)
| |
The blue-and-white flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana) is a migratory songbird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species is also known as the Japanese flycatcher. It breeds in Japan, Korea, and in parts of north eastern China and the Russian Far East. It winters in South East Asia, especially in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Sumatra and Borneo. This species has been recorded as a vagrant from the Sinharaja Rainforest in Sri Lanka in 2014.
Taxonomy and etymology
The species was first described in 1829 by Coenraad Jacob Temminck under the binomial name Muscicapa cyanomelana, and was transferred to its own genus Cyanoptila by Edward Blyth in 1847, on the basis of structural differences from other flycatchers, including its wing length and bill dimensions.[2]
The genus name comes from ancient Greek; "kuanos" meaning dark blue, and "ptilon", plumage. The specific cyanomelana also comes from "kuanos", paired with melas, melanos meaning dark, black.[3]
Subspecies
Two subspecies are accepted:[4]
- C. c. cyanomelana (Temminck, 1829) - breeds in Japan and the southern Kuril Islands; it migrates south to winter in Myanmar, Thailand, and the Greater Sundas.
- C. c. intermedia (Weigold, 1922) - breeds in northeastern China (Heilongjiang southward to northeastern Hebei, north and east of Beijing), southeastern Russia (Amur Oblast and Primorsky Krai), and the Korean peninsula; it migrates south to winter in Myanmar, Thailand, and the Greater Sundas.
A former third subspecies from further southwest in China is now treated as a separate species, Zappey's flycatcher C. cumatilis.[5]
Description
The blue-and-white flycatcher is a large flycatcher (16–17 cm long, weight 25 g on average) with a striking plumage pattern. The male is deep cobalt blue, with black on the face down to the upper part of the breast and flanks, the rest of the underside white. There is also a prominent white patch on the base of the outer tail feathers. Immature males have the adult male's blue wings, but are otherwise brown like females.[6]
The female is smaller on average than the male,[7] with head, face and most of upperparts grey-brown, and pale beige-white on the lower part of the middle of the throat, young males are very similar. The female has a smaller-headed profile than other brown flycatchers in range.[8]
The song is a short, melancholic sounding series of whistles.[8]
Ecology
Habitat
Blue-and-white flycatchers breed in primary and secondary lowland and submontane forests (including taiga, wooded slopes, and gullies) up to 1200 metres, and also in riverine thickets and plantations. Outside the breeding season, it uses coastal woodland, scrub, parks, and gardens, and in Borneo winters at elevations up to 1850 metres[9] in forested hills, lower montane forest, plantations, and logged lowland forest.[10]
These flycatchers are most active in the morning.[11]
Breeding
The breeding season extends from late May to early August. The nests, constructed primarily of moss, are typically situated in a variety of sheltered locations, including crevices in cliffs, among tree roots, under overhanging stream banks, in shallow tree hollows, and, rarely, within abandoned buildings. The clutch size ranges from four to six eggs, which are incubated solely by the female for a period of 14 to 15 days.[10] Females spend more time and energy caring for young than males.[12] Nest parasites include the northern hawk-cuckoo, common cuckoo and lesser cuckoo.[13]
Diet
It feeds mainly on insects and larvae, but also eats berries,[14] including pokeweed.[15]
Status
Although the species population is decreasing, its wide distribution and likely large population size lead to its classification as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List.[16]
Gallery
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Adult male, Taiwan
-
Rear view, Japan
-
Adult male
-
In India
-
Immature male, note the blue wings
-
Immature male
References
- ^ BirdLife International. (2017) [amended version of 2016 assessment]. "Cyanoptila cyanomelana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T103758039A111161222. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103758039A111161222.en. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ Blyth, Edward (1847). "Notices and Descriptions of various New or Little Known Species of Birds". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 16 (1847). Bishop's College Press: 124. ISSN 0368-1068. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
- ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names: From Aalge to Zusii (1. Aufl. ed.). London: Christopher Helm. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ "Chats, Old World flycatchers – IOC World Bird List". IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2. 2025-02-20. Retrieved 2026-02-21.
- ^ Leader, Paul J.; Carey, Geoff J. (2012). "Zappey's Flycatcher Cyanoptila cumatilis, a forgotten Chinese breeding endemic". Forktail. 28: 121–128.
- ^ Myers, Susan; Allen, Richard (2016). Birds of Borneo: Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Kalimantan. Helm field guides (2nd ed.). London New York, NY: Christopher Helm. ISBN 978-1-4729-2445-2.
- ^ Wang, Bin Liu, Libo; Xue, Dandan; Xu, Peng; An, Yuting; Lu, Changhu (2021). "The Function of a Migration Corridor for a Passerine: A Case Study Based on Age and Gender of Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana)". Pakistan Journal of Zoology. 53 (5). doi:10.17582/journal.pjz/20190620040649. ISSN 0030-9923.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Blue-and-white Flycatcher". eBird. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
- ^ Bishop, K. D. (2017-08-21). "J. A. Eaton, B. van Balen, N. W. Brickle, and F. E. Rheindt, Birds of the Indonesian archipelago: Greater Sundas and Wallacea". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 117 (4): 388–389. Bibcode:2017EmuAO.117..388B. doi:10.1080/01584197.2017.1364149. ISSN 0158-4197.
- ^ a b Clement, Peter; Marks, Jeffrey S. (2020). "Blue-and-white Flycatcher (Cyanoptila cyanomelana), version 1.0". Birds of the World. doi:10.2173/bow.bawfly2.01. ISSN 2771-3105.
- ^ Jeong, Young-Hun; Choi, Sung-Hwan; Banjade, Maniram; Jin, Seon-Deok; Park, Seon-Mi; Kunwar, Binod; Oh, Hong-Shik (2024-02-26). "Spatiotemporal Niche Separation among Passeriformes in the Halla Mountain Wetland of Jeju, Republic of Korea: Insights from Camera Trap Data". Animals. 14 (5): 724. doi:10.3390/ani14050724. ISSN 2076-2615. PMC 10930397. PMID 38473109.
- ^ Li, D.W., Zhao, W.G., Liu, P., Yu, D. and Chen, H., 2017. A study on the reproductive behavior of the Blue–and–white flycatcher in eastern Heilongjiang Province. Heilongjiang Anim. Sci. Vet. Med., 529: 229–233.
- ^ YANG, Canchao; LIANG, Wei; ANTONOV, Anton; CAI, Yan; STOKKE, Bård G.; FOSSØY, Frode; MOKSNES, Arne; RØSKAFT, Eivin (2012-03-01). "Diversity of parasitic cuckoos and their hosts in China". Chinese Birds. 3 (1): 9–32. Bibcode:2012AvRes...3....9Y. doi:10.5122/cbirds.2012.0004. hdl:11250/2462504. ISSN 1674-7674.
- ^ "Blue-and-white Flycatcher". www.oiseaux-birds.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
- ^ Liu, Bin; Wang, Guohai; An, Yuting; Xue, Dandan; Wang, Libo; Lu, Changhu (2021-06-22). "Similar seed dispersal systems by local frugivorous birds in native and alien plant species in a coastal seawall forest". PeerJ. 9 e11672. doi:10.7717/peerj.11672. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8231312. PMID 34221739.
- ^ BirdLife International. "Blue-and-white Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana". BirdLife International DataZone. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
- Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-96553-06-X.