The slaty-backed jungle flycatcher, also known as the Goodfellow's jungle flycatcher or the Mindanao jungle flycatcher is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to the Philippines found only on the island of Mindanao. The specific epithet honours the British zoological collector Walter Goodfellow. Its natural habitat is tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habitat loss
Region
Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Restricted to montane and mossy forests of Mindanao, where it frequents shaded ravines, stream corridors, and dense understory thickets. It favors mature oak–laurel and mossy forest with rich leaf litter and scattered perches for sallying. The species may persist in lightly logged areas if dense understory remains, but it avoids heavily degraded sites. It is locally uncommon and patchily distributed within suitable habitat.
Altitude Range
800–2200 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Also called Goodfellow's jungle flycatcher, this elusive understory bird is confined to Mindanao in the southern Philippines. It was formerly placed in the genus Rhinomyias but is now in Vauriella within the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. The specific epithet honors British zoological collector Walter Goodfellow. Ongoing habitat loss in montane forests is the primary threat to its survival.
An illustration by Gould, 1906
Temperament
shy and skulking
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick sallying flights from low perches
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in pairs within dense understory. It forages quietly near the ground or mid-levels, often along streams and steep gullies. Breeding behavior is poorly known but assumed to involve cup nests placed low in vegetation, as in related jungle flycatchers.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song consists of soft, thin whistles and high, delicate phrases delivered from shaded perches. Calls include sharp tseet notes and quiet contact chips that can be hard to locate in dense foliage.
Plumage
Male shows slaty-gray upperparts with paler gray underparts and a clean, neat appearance; female tends browner and duskier with more subdued contrast. Both sexes have fine, soft-textured plumage suited to shaded understory and a relatively plain face with a faint eye ring.
Diet
Primarily small arthropods such as beetles, flies, caterpillars, and spiders. It gleans prey from leaves and twigs and occasionally sallies to snatch flying insects. Leaf-litter probing and short ground sorties occur near stream edges and damp ravines.
Preferred Environment
Dense understory of montane and mossy forest, especially along riparian corridors and ravines. Uses low, shaded perches to scan for prey and makes short sorties into nearby foliage and leaf litter.
