Fairy flycatcher

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Fairy flycatcher
Fairy Warbler - South Africa S4E7312 (17143048570).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Stenostiridae
Genus: Stenostira
Cabanis & Bonaparte, 1850
Species:
S. scita
Binomial name
Stenostira scita
(Vieillot, 1818)
Fairy flycatcher map.jpg
Range map
  Resident year-round range
  Non-breeding winter visitor range
Synonyms

Muscicapa scitaVieillot, 1818

The fairy flycatcher or fairy warbler (Stenostira scita) is a small passerine bird. Formerly placed in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, it is now separated with some other "odd flycatchers" as the new family Stenostiridae (Beresford et al. 2005, Fuchs et al. 2006). It is the only member of the genus Stenostira.

Contents

It is an endemic resident breeder in southern Africa in Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia, and a vagrant to Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

Stenostira scita is a common seasonal migrant, breeding in karoo scrub and fynbos in the southern highlands, and migrating north in to spend the southern winter in thorn scrub at lower altitudes.

Description

The fairy flycatcher is 11–12 cm in length. The adult is pale grey above with a black mask through the eye and a white supercilium. The wings are black with a long white stripe, and the long black tail has white sides. The throat is white, the breast is pale grey, and the belly is white with a pinkish-grey wash to its centre. The sexes are alike, but the juvenile is browner than the adult. The eye is brown and the bill and legs are black.

Behaviour

The fairy flycatcher is monogamous unless its mate dies, when it will seek a new partner. It builds an open cup nest from thin stems and other plant material and lined with plant down. It is placed in the branches of a tree or shrub but well concealed. The female lays two or three green eggs. [2]

This bird is usually seen alone, in pairs, or small flocks. It feeds on small insects and other invertebrates, foraging in the foliage like a warbler.

Related Research Articles

Old World warblers are a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. They are not closely related to the New World warblers. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into Cisticolidae and the kinglets into Regulidae. In the past ten years they have been the subject of much research and many species are now placed into other families, including the Acrocephalidae, Cettiidae, Phylloscopidae, and Megaluridae. In addition some species have been moved into existing families or have not yet had their placement fully resolved. A smaller number of warblers, together with some babblers formerly placed in the family Timaliidae and the parrotbills, are retained in a much smaller family Sylviidae.

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

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Stenostira scita". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22714939A94433078. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22714939A94433078.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. James, H. W. (1922). "Notes on the Nest and Eggs of Stenostira scita (Vieill)". Ibis. 64 (2): 254–256. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1922.tb01316.x.