Blue-and-white flycatcher

Blue-and-white flycatcher
Blue-and-white flycatcher, Hokkaido, Japan
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
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". It is now located in the genus Cyanoptila alongside Zappey's flycatcher, which used to be conspecific with this taxon. ^[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 recognized subspecies: ^{[4] [5]}

• C. c. cyanomelana(Temminck, 1829) - breeds Japan and southern Kuril Islands; winters southward to Myanmar, Thailand, and the Greater Sundas.
• C. c. intermedia(Weigold, 1922) - breeds in northeastern China (Heilongjiang southward to eastern Hebei), southeastern Russia (Amur Oblast and Primorskiy Kray), and the Korean peninsula; winters southward to Myanmar, Thailand, and the Greater Sundas.

Description

The Blue-and-White Flycatcher is a large (16–17 cm long, weigh 25 g on average) and strikingly beautiful flycatcher. 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. White is also visible on the base of the outer tail feathers. Immature male has the adult’s blue wings but is brown otherwise. ^[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 1200m, and also in riverine thickets and plantations. Outside the breeding season, it utilizes coastal woodland, scrub, parks, and gardens, and in Borneo winters at elevations up to 1850m ^[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 size lead to its classification as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List. ^[16]

Gallery

• 
  Adult male, Taiwan
• 
  Rear view, Japan
• 
  Adult male
• 
  In India
• 
  Female, Japan
• 
  Immature male, note the blue wings
• 
  Immature male

References

1. 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.
2. Leader, Paul J.; Carey, Geoff J. (2012). "Zappey's flycatcher Cyanoptila cumatilis, a forgotten Chinese breeding endemic". Forktail. 28: 121–128.
3. 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.
4. "Blue-and-white Flycatcher - Cyanoptila cyanomelana". Observation.org . Retrieved 2025-02-02.
5. "Cyanoptila cyanomelana (Blue-and-white Flycatcher)". avibase . Retrieved 2025-02-02.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. "Blue-and-white Flycatcher". eBird . Retrieved 2025-02-02.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. "Blue-and-white Flycatcher". www.oiseaux-birds.com. Retrieved 2024-04-21.
15. 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.
16. 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.

External links

• Cyanoptila cyanomelana in Field Guide: Birds of the World on Flickr