Leaden Flycatcher
Myiagra rubecula· 王鹟科(3 photos)
Leaden Flycatcher
14-16 cm. Male: glossy blue-grey above and on upperbreast; lores/face/throat dark grey to blackish, contrasting with grey of upperparts; flight feathers duller grey with pale edges; dark upperbreast cut off sharply by white underparts. Female: dull lead-grey above, throat pale orange-buff; paler on breast; underparts off-white. Immature: like female, wing feathers/tail edged buff, mottled across upperbreast. Singles, pairs: alert, active; sits watchfully upright; darts into foliage or air after insects; raises crown feathers in slight peak when calling; rapidly quivers tail up/down. The small race concinna (nw. Aust.) has narrower bill.
- Other name
- Blue Flycatcher; Frogbird.
- Similar Species
- Satin, Broad-billed Flycatchers.
- Voice
- deep, slightly harsh, guttural 'zhirrp', singly or repeated; strident, far-carrying 'see-hear, see-hear'; 'see-kew, see-kew', or 'liprick, liprick'. Vivacious little song when breeding.
- Habitat
- coastal woodlands/scrubs to drier, more open eucalypt forests/woodlands; paperbarks, riverside vegetation, mangroves. More likely than Satin to occur in sandy coastal scrubs; avoids dense forest gullies.
- Breeding
- Sept.-Feb.
- Nest
- neat cup of fine bark, spiders' web; decorated with lichen, bark; on slender dead branch under leafy branch, in woodland, river red gum forest, 5-25 m high.
- Eggs
- 2-3; oval; blue-white, spotted in zone with brown, purple-brown, underlying violet; large end bald.
- Range & Status
- n. and e. Aust. and coastal islands: from Fitzroy R., Kimberley (WA), to c. Ballarat (Vic.). Resident in n. Aust., summer breeding migrant to se. Aust. Sept.-April, wintering in ne. Q and PNG. Mostly coastal, but occurs well inland, especially on watercourses. In NT, ranges s. to Katherine; in Q, inland to Blackall-Mitchell; in NSW, to Moree-Hillston-Barham; in Vic., w. to c. Vic.; rare (breeding) visitor Tas.; casual Grampians NP and Portland (Vic.), Mt Lofty Ras. (SA). Common n. and e. coasts; uncommon elsewhere. Also PNG.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Myiagra rubecula concinna 2. Myiagra rubecula papuana 3. Myiagra rubecula okyri 4. Myiagra rubecula yorki 5. Myiagra rubecula rubecula
