The ultramarine flycatcher or the white-browed blue flycatcher is a small arboreal Old World flycatcher in the Ficedula genus. Its breeding range extends from eastern Afghanistan to the Hengduan Mountains; it winters in India and northwestern Indochina.
Region
Himalayas and Southwest China; wintering in South Asia and Indochina
Typical Environment
Breeds in temperate to subtropical montane broadleaf and mixed forests, especially oak, rhododendron, and pine zones. Prefers forest edges, clearings, and streamside woodland where open sightlines aid aerial sallies. In winter it descends to lower elevations, using foothill forests, wooded ravines, orchards, and well-treed parks. It is typically found as single birds or pairs in the breeding season and more loosely in mixed flocks outside it.
Altitude Range
300–3600 m
Climate Zone
Highland
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Males are a vivid ultramarine blue with a striking white eyebrow, while females are brownish and much subtler, making the species notably sexually dimorphic. It breeds in montane forests from eastern Afghanistan through the Himalayas to the Hengduan Mountains and winters in India and northwestern Indochina. The species often hunts by sallying from shaded perches along forest edges and clearings.
Male
Temperament
active and moderately territorial
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with agile, darting sallies
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in pairs during the breeding season, using tree cavities, holes, or sheltered niches for nesting; the nest is a neat cup of moss and fibers. Clutch sizes are small, and both sexes may attend the young. Outside the breeding season it may join mixed-species foraging flocks in wooded habitats.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
The male’s song is a sweet, high-pitched series of clear, warbling phrases delivered from exposed perches. Calls include sharp chips and thin seee notes, often given during foraging and short flights.
Plumage
Male with ultramarine-blue upperparts, face and crown, clean white underparts, and a bold white supercilium; wings and tail darker with bluish gloss. Female is brown-olive above with pale buffy underparts, often faintly mottled, and a subdued pale supercilium.
Diet
Primarily takes small flying and arboreal insects such as flies, beetles, moths, and caterpillars. It hawks prey on the wing from low to mid-canopy perches and also gleans from leaves and twigs. Occasional small berries may be taken outside the breeding season.
Preferred Environment
Forages along forest edges, light gaps, and stream corridors where visibility and insect activity are high. Uses mid-story perches, sallying out to capture prey before returning to the same or a nearby perch.
