Spotted flycatcher

The spotted flycatcher is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range.

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Distribution

Region

Europe and western Palearctic

Typical Environment

Breeds from the British Isles and Iberia across most of continental Europe to western Siberia, and south into the Mediterranean basin. Winters mainly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of southwestern Asia. Prefers open woodlands, forest edges, orchards, parks, gardens, and farmland with scattered trees. Often found near clearings and along hedgerows where perches are available.

Altitude Range

Sea level to 2000 m

Climate Zone

Temperate

Characteristics

Size13.5–15 cm

Wing Span23–25 cm

Male Weight0.017 kg

Female Weight0.016 kg

Life Expectancy5 years

Ease of Keeping

Beginner friendly: 1/5

Useful to know

The spotted flycatcher is a small, slender passerine known for sallying from exposed perches to snatch flying insects mid-air. It breeds widely across Europe and into the western Palearctic, then migrates to Africa and southwestern Asia for winter. Populations have declined in parts of its range, likely due to habitat changes and reduced insect availability.

Gallery

Behaviour

Temperament

solitary and territorial in breeding season

Flight Pattern

short rapid wingbeats with quick sallies from a perch

Social Behavior

Breeds in single pairs, often returning to favored territories. Nests are open cups, frequently placed on ledges, vines, or sheltered shelves on buildings and trees. Both parents feed the young, and double broods may occur in favorable seasons.

Migratory Pattern

Seasonal migrant

Song Description

Song is a soft, thin, and somewhat scratchy warble interspersed with high, sibilant notes. Calls include sharp tseep or tzik contact notes and a thin seee. Vocalizations are modest and can be overlooked among louder woodland species.

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Identification

Comb Type

Plumage Description

Feather Color

Leg Color

Earlobe Color

Eye Color

Feeding Habits

Diet

Preferred Environment

Requires Supplement

Population

Conservation Status

Species Status

Wild Population

Total Known Population

Spotted forktail

The spotted forktail is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas and the hills of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and southern China including Yunnan. Birds of this species are 25 cm with a long tail. The sexes are alike, having a white forehead and a black crown and nape, a black back spotted white, and a broad white wing bar. The tail is deeply forked, graduated black and white. The white spotted back easily identifies this species from other similar sized forktail. Its call is a shrill, screechy KREE, mostly given in flight; it also makes some shrill, squeaky notes while perched. It breeds mostly at 1200–3600 m, and descends to about 600 m in winter. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, where it is found in boulder-strewn torrents, forest streams, and roadside canals.

Spotted green pigeon

The spotted green pigeon or Liverpool pigeon is a species of pigeon which is most likely extinct. It was first mentioned and described in 1783 by John Latham, who had seen two specimens of unknown provenance and a drawing depicting the bird. The taxonomic relationships of the bird were long obscure, and early writers suggested many different possibilities, though the idea that it was related to the Nicobar pigeon prevailed, and it was therefore placed in the same genus, Caloenas. Today, the species is only known from a specimen kept in World Museum, Liverpool. Overlooked for much of the 20th century, it was recognised as a valid extinct species by the IUCN Red List only in 2008. It may have been native to an island somewhere in the South Pacific Ocean or the Indian Ocean, and it has been suggested that a bird referred to as titi by Tahitian islanders was this bird. In 2014, a genetic study confirmed it as a distinct species related to the Nicobar pigeon, and showed that the two were the closest relatives of the extinct dodo and Rodrigues solitaire.

Spotted greenbul

The spotted greenbul or spotted bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is classified in the monotypic genus Ixonotus. It is widely spread throughout the African tropical rainforest, from Sierra Leone and Guinea to Ghana; southern Nigeria to Uganda, northern Tanzania, eastern and central Democratic Republic of the Congo and extreme north-western Angola. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and moist savanna.