The Nilgiri flycatcher is an Old World flycatcher with a very restricted range in the hills of southern India. It was formerly referred to as the Nilgiri verditer flycatcher because of its similarity to the verditer flycatcher, a winter migrant to the Nilgiris, which, however, has distinct dark lores and a lighter shade of blue. There are two small white patches at the base of the tail. It is found mainly in the higher altitude shola forests of the Western Ghats and the Nilgiris.
Region
Western Ghats, southern India
Typical Environment
Most frequently found in high-elevation shola and evergreen forests, forest edges, and well-wooded valleys of the Western Ghats, including the Nilgiris, Palani, and Anaimalai ranges. It favors dense, moist understorey and mid-storey strata with scattered perches. The species also uses shaded plantations and gardens near intact forest. It is largely sedentary within its small range and keeps to cooler montane habitats.
Altitude Range
1000–2300 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Endemic to the high-elevation shola forests of India’s Western Ghats, this flycatcher is often confused with the verditer flycatcher but is darker blue and lacks the verditer’s dark lores. A hallmark feature is two small white patches at the base of the tail, most visible in flight. It typically hunts by sallying out from shaded perches to snatch insects mid-air.
Egg
Temperament
quiet and unobtrusive, often skulking in shaded mid-storey
Flight Pattern
short rapid sallies from perches
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs, especially during the breeding season. Builds a neat, moss-lined cup in cavities, banks, or sheltered ledges, with both sexes participating in nest care. Territorial around nesting sites and may join mixed-species foraging flocks when not breeding.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, sweet series of clear whistles and thin notes delivered from a shaded perch. Calls include thin tseet and soft chit notes, often repeated at intervals in the early morning.
Plumage
Male is deep ultramarine to slaty blue overall with a slightly darker head and cleaner blue underparts; female is duller bluish-grey to brownish with a bluish wash. Both sexes show small white patches at the base of the tail and lack wing bars.
Diet
Feeds mainly on flying insects such as flies, moths, beetles, and other small arthropods. Hunts by sallying from exposed or semi-concealed perches, returning to the same spot repeatedly. Also gleans insects from foliage and occasionally from trunks and branches. Rarely, it may take small berries when insect prey is scarce.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest edges, shaded trails, and clearings within dense evergreen and shola forest. Frequently uses mid-storey perches with good sightlines into open gaps and light wells.
