The Sulawesi blue flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is endemic to Indonesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
Region
Wallacea (Sulawesi and nearby islands)
Typical Environment
Occurs in primary and mature secondary evergreen forests across Sulawesi, using both lowland and montane zones. Prefers dense, humid interiors and edges of forest, often along streams, gullies, and shaded ravines. Commonly keeps to the understory and mid-canopy, perching quietly before making short sallies. It may venture into older secondary growth if canopy cover remains high.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 2/5
A small forest flycatcher of Sulawesi, the male is strikingly blue while the female is mostly brown, making the pair easy to sex in the field. It forages by sallying from shaded perches and gleaning insects among leaves in the understory and midstory. The species is sensitive to heavy forest degradation but can persist in well-vegetated secondary growth. Some island forms in this complex have been treated as separate taxa in recent taxonomic revisions.
Temperament
quiet and unobtrusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick sallies from perches
Social Behavior
Usually seen singly or in pairs and occasionally joins mixed-species flocks in the forest understory. Pairs defend small territories during the breeding season. Nests are typically cup-shaped and placed in cavities, tree banks, or dense tangles at low to mid heights.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Song is a series of clear, thin whistles and short melodic phrases delivered from a shaded perch. Calls include soft tsip notes and brief trills when agitated or communicating with a mate.
Plumage
Male with bright cobalt to azure-blue upperparts and head, paler blue throat and breast, and whitish to pale gray belly; wings and tail darker blue. Female is warm brown above with faint bluish tinges on wings and tail, and pale buffy underparts with light grayish wash. Both sexes show fine feathering and a slightly darker mask around the lores.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small flying and foliage-dwelling insects such as flies, beetles, moths, and ants, and also takes spiders. Captures prey by sallying from low to mid-level perches and by gleaning from leaves and twigs. May occasionally consume small berries when insect activity is low.
Preferred Environment
Forages in shaded understory and mid-canopy of humid forest, especially along stream margins and forest edges. Often uses semi-open gaps beneath the canopy where insects concentrate.
