The Damar flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Damar Island in Indonesia.
Region
Maluku Islands, Indonesia
Typical Environment
The Damar flycatcher is confined to primary and lightly disturbed evergreen and semi-evergreen forests on Damar Island. It favors dense understory and midstory strata, especially along forest edges, gullies, and streamside thickets. It can persist in selectively logged forest if sufficient canopy and understory cover remain. Plantations and heavily degraded scrub are generally avoided.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
This elusive flycatcher occurs only on tiny Damar Island in Indonesia, making it highly vulnerable to habitat loss. It forages quietly in the shaded understory and is often detected more by its thin, high calls than by sight. Conservation of remaining lowland forest on Damar is crucial for its long-term survival.
Temperament
shy and inconspicuous
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with brief sallies from low perches
Social Behavior
Typically encountered singly or in pairs, maintaining small territories within forest understory. During breeding, pairs build a small cup nest concealed in dense vegetation or in a forked sapling. Both adults likely share incubation and chick provisioning. Outside breeding, it may shadow mixed-species flocks but remains low and hidden.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a soft series of thin, high-pitched whistles delivered from a shaded perch. Calls include sharp tiks and faint see notes, often given intermittently and easily overlooked in cicada noise.
Plumage
Plain brown-olive upperparts with paler, buffy underparts and a whitish throat; subtle olive-gray wash across the breast. Feathers are soft and smooth, giving a fairly uniform, unpatterned appearance, with faint scaling on the chest in some individuals.
Diet
Primarily hunts small insects and other arthropods, gleaning from leaves and twigs or sallying short distances to capture prey. It occasionally snatches prey from the air after a short hover. Foraging is methodical and quiet, with long pauses between short moves.
Preferred Environment
Feeds in the shaded understory and lower midstory, often along edges of trails, clearings, and riparian thickets. It prefers areas with dense foliage that provide cover and abundant perches.
