Asian brown flycatcher

Last updated

Asian brown flycatcher
Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) at Periyar National Park.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Muscicapa
Species:
M. dauurica
Binomial name
Muscicapa dauurica
Pallas, 1811
Subspecies

M. d. dauurica
M. d. poonensis
M. d. siamensis

Synonyms [2]

Muscicapa latirostris (Raffles, 1822)

The Asian brown flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The word Muscicapa comes from the Latin musca, a fly and capere, to catch. The specific dauurica refers to Dauria, an area of south-eastern Siberia named after a local nomadic tribe. [3]

Contents

This is an insectivorous species which breeds in Japan, eastern Siberia and the Himalayas. It is migratory and winters in tropical southern Asia from southern India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia.

The correct specific epithet for this species is disputed. [4] [5]

Description

This species is 13 cm (5.1 in) long, including the cocked tail. It is similar in shape to the larger spotted flycatcher, but is relatively longer-tailed. The dark bill is relatively large and broad-based. The adult has grey-brown upperparts, which become greyer as the plumage ages, and whitish underparts with brown-tinged flanks. Young birds have scaly brown upperparts, head and breast.

Geographical variation

Asian brown flycatcher near Coimbatore, India Asian Brown Flycatcher (Muscicapa dauurica) by Dharani Prakash.jpg
Asian brown flycatcher near Coimbatore, India

Although usually treated as monotypic if the brown-streaked flycatcher is not included, Rasmussen and Anderton, in Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide argue that populations in the Indian subcontinent and the Andaman Islands should be regarded as a separate subspecies, poonensis, from the nominate race which occupies most of the species' range. They describe poonensis as paler and browner above, with a deeper bill, and mostly pale lower mandible, a more mottled throat, breast and flanks (in fresh plumage), less contrastingly white "spectacles" and throat, and perhaps a more rounded wing. [6]

Mai Po, Hong Kong Brfly 0019w.JPG
Mai Po, Hong Kong
Asian Brown Flycatcher - Muscicapa dauurica.jpg

Behaviour

Asian brown flycatcher is a common bird found in open woodland and cultivated areas. It nests in a hole in a tree, laying four eggs which are incubated by the female.

The male Asian brown flycatcher sings a simple melodic song during courtship.

This bird is parasitised by the chewing louse Philopterus davuricae.

Vagrancy

The Asian brown flycatcher is an extremely rare vagrant to Western Europe. Records have come from Britain, Denmark, and Sweden, and in addition, there are unproven claims from Ireland, Faeroe, and Norway. [ citation needed ]

Britain

On 3 October 2007 a first winter brown flycatcher was discovered at Flamborough Head, East Riding of Yorkshire which attracted hundreds of birdwatchers during its stay which lasted until dusk of the following day. [ citation needed ] This looks set to become the first accepted record. A previous record, on Fair Isle, on 1–2 July 1992 [7] was regarded by the BOURC as not definitely of wild origin. [ citation needed ] A bird had also been claimed on Holy Island, Northumberland on 9 September 1956, but the identification was not accepted beyond doubt. [ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian stonechat</span> Species of bird

The Siberian stonechat or Asian stonechat is a recently validated species of the Old World flycatcher family (Muscicapidae). Like the other thrush-like flycatchers, it was often placed in the Turdidae in the past. It breeds in the East Palearctic including in easternmost Europe and winters in the Old World tropics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old World flycatcher</span> Family of birds

The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World, with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat and northern wheatear, found also in North America. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing. The family is relatively large and includes 351 species which are divided into 54 genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spotted flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The spotted flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian blue robin</span> Species of bird

The Siberian blue robin is a small passerine bird that was formerly classified as a member of the thrush family, Turdidae, but is now more generally considered to belong to the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It and similar small European species are often called chats. Recent research suggests that this species and some other East Asian members of Luscinia should be classified in a new genus, together with the Japanese and Ryūkyū robins. The genus name Larvivora comes from the Neo-Latin larva meaning caterpillar and -vorus meaning eating, and cyane is Latin for "dark-blue".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tickell's blue flycatcher</span> Species of bird

Tickell's blue flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical Asia, from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Bangladesh and western Myanmar. The Indochinese blue flycatcher was formerly considered conspecific. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats. The name commemorates the wife of the British ornithologist Samuel Tickell who collected in India and Burma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian paradise flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The Indian paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Myanmar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown-breasted flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The brown-breasted flycatcher or Layard's flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species breeds in north eastern India, central and Southern China and northern Burma and Thailand, and migrates to southern India and Sri Lanka. It forages for insects below the forest canopy, often close to the forest floor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusty-tailed flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The rusty-tailed flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found mainly in the northern regions of the Indian Subcontinent and some parts of southwest India, as well as pockets of Central Asia including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The species is partially migratory, with the Central Asian populations migrating to India, as far as the southwest Indian coast along the Arabian Sea, to Karnataka and Kerala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-rumped flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The yellow-rumped flycatcher, also known as Korean flycatcher or tricolor flycatcher, is a species of flycatcher found in eastern Asia. A distinctive species with almost no look-alike other than the narcissus flycatcher. It breeds in eastern Asia including parts of Mongolia, Transbaikal, southern China, Korea and western Japan. They winter in parts of the Malay Peninsula and South Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African dusky flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The African dusky flycatcher, also known as the dusky-brown flycatcher or dusky alseonax, is a small passerine bird of the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It is a resident breeder in Africa from Nigeria, the Central African Republic, South Sudan and Ethiopia south to South Africa. It is very common in its woodland habitat, which includes riverine forests, evergreen forest edges and clearings, especially near water bodies such as lakes, dams and streams, and well-wooded suburban gardens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark-sided flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The dark-sided flycatcher is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Muscicapa in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It has a wide breeding distribution in the East Palearctic with northern birds migrating south for the winter. It is also known as the Siberian flycatcher or sooty flycatcher, the latter name is also used for the sooty flycatcher of Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-streaked flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The grey-streaked flycatcher or grey-spotted flycatcher is a small passerine bird breeding in the eastern Palearctic belonging to the genus Muscicapa in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1861.

<i>Muscicapa</i> Genus of birds

Muscicapa is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, and therein to the typical flycatchers of subfamily Muscicapinae. They are widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia with most species occurring in forest and woodland habitats. Several species are migratory, moving south from Europe and northern Asia for the winter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nilgiri blue robin</span> Species of bird

The Nilgiri blue robin, also known as Nilgiri shortwing, white-bellied shortwing, Nilgiri sholakili or rufous-bellied shortwing is a species of passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae endemic to the Shola forests of the higher hills of southern India, mainly north of the Palghat Gap. This small bird is found on the forest floor and undergrowth of dense forest patches sheltered in the valleys of montane grassland, a restricted and threatened habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green cochoa</span> Species of bird

The green cochoa is a bird species that was variously placed with the thrushes of family Turdidae or the related Muscicapidae. It is considered closer to the former.

<i>Tarsiger</i> Genus of birds

Tarsiger is a genus of six species of birds in the family Muscicapidae. They are small, mostly brightly coloured insectivorous birds native to Asia and northeastern Europe; four of the six species are confined to the Sino-Himalayan mountain system. The genus has sometimes been included within the related genus Luscinia, but the species have been found to form a distinct monophyletic group.

The brown-streaked flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in southern Myanmar, southern Thailand, northern peninsular Malaysia, and northeast Borneo. Some authorities consider it to be a subspecies of the Asian brown flycatcher. In 2020, a vagrant was sighted 300 km (190 mi) south of the Australian town of Broome and its identity was confirmed from DNA analysis from the droppings of the bird. The species has a rufescent plumage in the breeding season and then becomes drab. The species name is after the collector Sir Walter James Franklin Williamson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulawesi streaked flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The Sulawesi streaked flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It has only been recorded in Sulawesi, where it is known to breed. It appears not to be endangered, being less sensitive to disturbance than many of Southeast Asia's forest-dependent birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean flycatcher</span> Species of bird

The Mediterranean flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds on the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sardinia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa. The International Ornithologists' Union has split the species from the spotted flycatcher, but other taxonomic authorities considered it still conspecific.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2019) [amended version of 2017 assessment]. "Muscicapa dauurica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T22709207A155604003. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22709207A155604003.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "Asian Brown Flycatcher". Avibase.
  3. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London, United Kingdom: Christopher Helm. pp. 131, 260. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4..
  4. Mlíkovský, J. (2012). "Correct name for the Asian Brown Flycatcher (Aves:Muscicapidae, Muscicapa)". Zootaxa. 3393: 53–56. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3393.1.4.
  5. Dickinson, E.C.; et al. (2014). "Correcting the "correct" name for the Asian Brown Flycatcher (Aves: Passeriformes, Muscicapidae, Muscicapa)". Zootaxa. 3869 (3): 343–347. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3869.3.8. PMID   25283921.
  6. Rasmussen, Pamela C. and John C. Anderton (2005) Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide ISBN   84-87334-67-9
  7. Harvey, Paul (1992) The brown flycatcher on Fair Isle - a new British bird Birding World 5(7):252-255

Further reading