| African blue flycatcher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In Kibale, Uganda | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Stenostiridae |
| Genus: | Elminia |
| Species: | E. longicauda |
| Binomial name | |
| Elminia longicauda | |
 | |
| Range of African blue flycatcher | |
| Synonyms | |
Myiagra longicauda | |
The African blue flycatcher or blue-crested flycatcher (Elminia longicauda) is a species of bird in the family Stenostiridae from western and central Sub-Saharan Africa.
The African blue flycatcher is a dainty, pale, bright blue flycatcher with a short crest and long tail. The entire upper parts and tail are bright blue, shading between blue and cyan, with black lores and black flight feathers edged with blue, the underparts are greyish blue fading to whitish on the belly. The bill and legs are black. Juveniles are duller with faint greyish spotting on the head and wing coverts. [3] It measures 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) in length and weighs 7–12 g (0.25–0.42 oz). [4]
The song of the African blue flycatcher is a series of slow, rather random and tuneless sibilant notes strung together in no particular order. [4] Call is a quiet "tsip". [3]
The African blue flycatcher occurs from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia east discontinuously to Kenya and south through the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to northern Angola. [4]
Its natural habitats are moist lowland forests, mangrove forests, gallery forest, montane forests, gardens, wooded farmland and moist savanna. [3] [4]
The African blue flycatcher forages rather gracefully with a fanned tail and half open wings among leaves, as well as occasionally foraging on the ground and flycatching. [3]
The African blue flycatcher is thought to form a superspecies with the white-tailed blue flycatcher and these species ; the two have been placed in a separate genus Errannornis, but the differences between this species pair and the other species classified in Elminia are considered insufficient to merit generic separation. [4]
Two subspecies of the African blue flycatcher are currently recognised. Elminia longicauda longicauda (Swainson, 1838) which is found in the western part of its range as far east as Nigeria, and the paler Elminia longicauda teresita Antinori, 1864 in the west and the south. [2] [4]
The white-bellied blue flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of southwest India. Males are dark blue with a lighter shade of blue on the brow and have a greyish white belly. Females have a rufous breast, a white face and olive grey above.
Stenostiridae, or the fairy flycatchers, are a family of small passerine birds proposed as a result of recent discoveries in molecular systematics. They are also referred to as stenostirid warblers.
The purple cochoa is a brightly coloured bird found in the temperate forests of Asia. It is a quiet and elusive bird species that has been considered to be related to the thrushes of family Turdidae or the related Muscicapidae. They are found in dark forested areas and is found in the canopy, where it often sits motionless.
Elminia is a genus of bird in the flycatcher family Stenostiridae. The genus is endemic to Africa. It contains the following species:
The white-tailed crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the flycatcher family Stenostiridae. It has a discontinuous distribution in eastern Africa. There are three subspecies, E. a. albonotata of central Kenya, and Uganda through to south west Tanzania; E. a. subvaerulea, which ranges from southern Kenya to Malawi and E. a. swynnertoni of Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
The dusky crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Stenostiridae. It is widespread across the African tropical rainforest. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The celestial monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae, and one of the most attractive of all the monarch flycatchers. It is identified as a turquoise blue bird with a long and spectacular cerulean blue crest and large greenish-yellow wattle. It is endemic to the Philippines with its extant range being in Luzon, Samar, Mindanao Tawi-Tawi and Basilan and it being possibly extinct on Negros and Sibuyan Island.Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests up to 750 masl. There is an unverified report of this bird in 2024 in Leyte. It is one of the most sought after birds by birdwatchers in the Philippines and in the world.
The short-crested monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae and one of the most attractive of all the monarch flycatchers. It is a brilliant ultramarine blue bird with the males having a black facial markings with an electric blue eyering and a short crest contrasted with a pearly white belly. It is endemic to the Philippines found on the islands of Luzon, Camiguin Norte, Polilio, Catanduanes, Samar, Dinagat and Mindanao. It is found in tropical moist lowland forest. It is threatened by habitat loss. Along with the Celestial monarch, It is one of the most sought after birds among birdwatchers.
The golden monarch is a species of passerine bird in the family Monarchidae found in New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest. The golden monarch displays marked sexual dimorphism, the male a striking golden colour with black mask, wings and tail, the female a golden or golden-olive colour. Both bear a characteristic 'teardrop' white pattern below the eye.
The ashy flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and savanna. It has a disputed generic placement, with different authorities variously putting it in Muscicapa, Fraseria, or other genera. Ashy flycatchers are mostly grey in colour, with pale grey or white underparts, and display no sexual dimorphism.
The azure-crested flycatcher or the blue-crested flycatcher, is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Fiji, where it is found on Taveuni.
The Mindanao blue fantail is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is one of 47 species in the genus Rhipidura. It is endemic to the Philippines found only on the island of Mindanao and Basilan. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It was previously conspecific with the Visayan blue fantail.
The rufous paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in Indonesia and the Philippines. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests.
The blue-mantled crested flycatcher or African crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae found in eastern and south-eastern Africa.
The Visayan blue fantail is a species of bird in the family Rhipiduridae. It is endemic to the Philippines on the islands of Bohol, Leyte and Samar. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests. It was previously conspecific with the Mindanao blue fantail.
