Red-breasted Flycatcher
Ficedula parva
Nallamala Forest
The Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in eastern Europe and across Central Asia and is strictly migratory, wintering in south Asia. The breeding male is mainly muted brown above and white below, with a grey head and an orange throat. Females and immatures are similarly colored but lack the orange throat patch. The red-breasted flycatcher is a regular passage migrant in western Europe, whereas the Collared Flycatcher, which has a different migration route (wintering in Sub-Saharan Africa), is scarce. It forms a superspecies with the closely related Taiga Flycatcher and Kashmir Flycatcher and can be distinguished from the former by its different song, warmer-toned plumage and the more extensive orange throat patch. I photographed this beautiful little flycatcher in the forests around the Uma Maheshwaram Temple and was only able to spot the female. I could hear the male and spent a fair bit of time looking for him but he proved to be elusive. Maybe when he visits again he will graciously provide the opportunity.
Located in the central stretch of the Deccan Plateau, Telangana has sub-tropical climate and the terrain consists mostly of hills, mountain ranges, and thick dense forests covering an area of 27,292 km². The annual rainfall ranges between 1,100 mm to 1,200 mm and the annual temperature varies from 15 C to 45 C. The State is drained by a number of rivers which include Godavari and Krishna. Telangana is endowed with rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has dense teak forests on the northern part along the banks of river Godavari. As per the Champion & Seth Classification of Forest Types (1968), the forests in Telangana belong to three Forest Type groups, which are further divided into 12 Forest Types. The State Government’s massive greening programme, 'Telangana Ku Harita Haram' in the State aimed to plant and protect 230 crore seedlings over a period of 4 years. This initiative aims at achieving the twin objectives of increasing the forest cover and reduce pressure on the existing forest resources, through massive community participation by Vana Samrakshna Samithis (VSS) and Eco-Development Committees (EDCs) in Protected Areas and Watershed Development Committees in the Watershed areas. Recorded Forest Area (RFA) in the State is 26,904 km² of which 20,353 km² is Reserved Forest, 5,939 km² is Protected Forest and 612 km² is Unclassed Forests. In Telangana, during the period 1st January 2015 to 5th February 2019, a total of 9,420 hectares of forest land was diverted for non-forestry purposes under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980 (MoEF & CC, 2019). As per the information received from the State during that last two years, 12,730 ha of plantations including avenue plantations in the State.
Three National Parks and nine Wildlife Sanctuaries constitute the Protected Area network of the State covering 5.08% of its geographical area and our focus area today is the northern fringe of the Nallamalla forest located both in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. It is part of the Eastern Ghats. The Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, the largest tiger reserve in India spread over the five districts of Kurnool, Prakasam, Guntur, Nalgonda and Mahabub Nagar falls in its precincts.
Uma Maheshwaram is an ancient Shiva temple, often called the "Northern Gateway to Srisailam", located in the Nallamala forest range near Achampet, Telangana, India approximately 120 kms from the capital city of Hyderabad. Some sources date it to the 2nd century AD. It is famous for its "Papanasanam", a mystical, naturally flowing spring near the temple, whose source of water remains unknown and has never been depleted. The temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati (Uma Maheshwara), houses a unique Shivalinga with both white and red colors, is nestled in deep forest and is considered an important site for pilgrims traveling to Srisailam. The nearby hills shield the temple and the 500-metre stretch to Papanasanam from sunlight for most of the day, maintaining a temperature lower than the surroundings throughout the year. The area is teeming with biodiversity and needs to be maintained. Read about some of the other species I have photographed in the area.
Read about my other flycatchers here:
Red-breasted Flycatcher - Female
Red-breasted Flycatcher
The Red-breasted Flycatcher is a distinctive, small migrant flycatcher. The males have a rusty-orange throat that continues onto the breast and all plumages have a distinctive tail pattern with black terminal bar and white sides. The wings are relatively plain and the white eyering is noticeable. When perched, the tail is often held cocked with drooping wingtips. The Red-breasted can be compared with the very similar Taiga Flycatcher but note the more extensive orange throat in the breeding male, warmer overall coloration, and more extensive pale pinkish on the bill base. The Red-breasted breeds in mature deciduous mixed forest and winters in forest, woodland and parks. The song is a series of bland and repetitive but sweet whistles, often with a few fuzzy notes as an intro and they are often detected by a rattling "zrrrt" call, slower than that of Taiga Flycatcher.
The Red-breasted Flycatcher is about 11·5 cm long and weighs between 8·5–11·5 grams. The breeding male has forehead, crown and hindneck in brown, tinged with grey. The lores, ear-coverts and side of the neck is ashy grey, with a narrow off-white eyering. The upperparts, including the upperwing, is brown, while the flight-feathers and upperwing-coverts are narrowly edged paler brown, the uppertail-coverts are blackish brown, tipped with grey-brown. The tail is blackish brown, T3 with middle third of outer web white (often extending to middle of inner web), outer three feather pairs (T4–T6) with basal two-thirds of both webs white; chin, throat and breast orange-red (becoming brighter with age); side of upper breast grey, rest of underparts are white, tinged with creamy buff on the flanks and side of the lower breast, the thighs are pale brownish; axillaries and the underwing-coverts are a creamy buff. The iris is brown; maxilla blackish horn, mandible yellowish to deep flesh-pink, variably dark towards tip and the legs are dark brown.
They can be distinguished from the Kashmir Flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra) mainly by paler coloration, less extensive and paler red below, no blackish border on upper breast side. The non-breeding male has less extensive orange-red on chin and throat, and the flanks are more buffish. The female has forehead, crown and hindneck brown (with no grey tinge), lores buffish white, ear-coverts pale brown, narrow eyering buffish, upperparts and upperwing as male, with blackish uppertail-coverts, chin, throat, breast side and flanks creamy buff, rest of underparts white. The Juvenile has lores, ear-coverts and upperparts rufous-buff with narrow dark brown feather edges, giving a spotted appearance, the underparts are buff, deeper and yellower on breast and flanks, belly and undertail-coverts are white. The immature looks like the female, but the inner secondaries are narrowly edged rufous-buff, and tertials, greater coverts and outer median coverts edged and tipped rufous-buff.
The Red-breasted, Taiga and Kashmir Flycatchers are three very similar looking flycatchers belonging to the Ficedula genus. Initially, all three were considered to be sub-species of Red-breasted Flycatcher and molecular data indicates that they form a sister group, i.e. they share a common recent ancestor. These three species can be distinguished from other superficially similar flycatchers like Asian Brown and Brown-breasted Flycatcher by the white sides to their blackish tail and their tendency to frequently ‘cock’ it. But trying to differentiate between these three species can be difficult! While adult males are fairly easy to identify, females and first winter birds are notoriously difficult to tell apart.
Breeding and Wintering ranges of Red-breasted and Taiga Flycatcher - Bird Count India
The Red-breasted Flycatcher breeds in eastern Europe and west Asia while the Taiga Flycatcher breeds in central and east Asia and the Kashmir Flycatcher has a very restricted breeding range in the western Himalayas of Kashmir and NE Pakistan. Despite their varied breeding ranges, all three species can be found in peninsular India during the winter season from October to March, often in the same locality! Observe the migration maps that clearly illustrate the differences in the breeding and wintering ranges of these three species. Taiga and Red-breasted Flycatchers share very similar habitats throughout the peninsula during winter, but Taiga is much more common in eastern and north-eastern India (where Red-breasted rarely occurs). Red-breasted Flycatcher is more common in the west (where Taiga also fairly commonly occurs). The Kashmir Flycatcher may be seen in passage in north and central India, but it winters primarily in the high altitudes of the Nilgiris (where all three species may occur) and Sri Lanka. So, if you see one of these flycatchers east of West Bengal, you can be fairly confident that it is a Taiga Flycatcher, and if you see one during the breeding months in Kashmir, you can be fairly confident that it is a Kashmir Flycatcher!
Identification of Red-breasted & Taiga Flycatchers
The Bill
The Taiga Flycatcher has an almost completely dark bill. In comparison, the bill colour of a Red-breasted Flycatcher is variable and can range from completely dark (like Taiga) to partly pale.
The Plumage
The adult breeding males are relatively easy to differentiate by the amount of red on the throat and breast. The Taiga Flycatcher (also called Red-throated Flycatcher) has a slightly deeper red restricted to the throat, often (but not always) separated from its cream-coloured belly by a grey breast band. The Red-breasted Flycatcher however, unlike the Taiga, has red that extends onto the upper breast, meeting the white of the belly.
During the non-breeding season, the Red-breasted Flycatcher has varying amounts of red on the throat and breast, but the Taiga Flycatcher loses its red throat. The Red-breasted Flycatcher in this plumage superficially resembles a breeding plumaged Taiga Flycatcher at times, but remember that non-breeding Taiga Flycatcher males have no red on their throat and may resemble a female! They usually develop the red throat only by February when moulting into their breeding plumage. So, if you see a seemingly red-throated bird between October and January, you can be fairly confident that it is a Red-breasted Flycatcher even if it lacks red on the breast. Additionally, the Red-breasted Flycatcher lacks a complete grey breast band which may be seen in Taiga Flycatcher (although it’s not always obvious). If you see any bird that lacks red (this can be a female, a sub-adult male or a non-breeding Taiga male: a bird in this plumage is called a “female type”), one of the keys to identification lies in its longest (central) uppertail coverts. These are the feathers at the base of the tail just below the rump. The Red-breasted Flycatcher has brownish-grey uppertail coverts that are usually slightly lighter or the same colour as its tail, whereas a Taiga Flycatcher’s uppertail coverts are almost jet-black and are as dark or darker than its tail.
The Call
Calls are by far the best way to tell female types apart. Both flycatchers call frequently during winter while simultaneously flicking their tail, possibly to defend winter territories from conspecifics. Both species have calls composed of repeated rattles. The rattle of a Red-breasted Flycatcher sounds like “trrrrr” where each individual note is distinctly discernible by the human ear. In comparison, the Taiga Flycatcher has a faster rattle which may sound like a long continuous “drrrrrt” without individual notes being discernible.
Identification of the Kashmir Flycatcher
The Bill
The Kashmir Flycatcher usually has a dark bill with an extensive pale/yellowish base to the lower mandible (the lower half of its bill). However, note that bill colour can range from apparently dark to fully pale/yellowish! Adult males often show these distinctive fully pale/yellowish bills.
The Plumage
The Kashmir Flycatcher is rufous on the throat and breast and far more extensive than in the Red-breasted/Taiga and is bordered by a bold black malar streak extending onto the upper breast-patch. Adult females are paler brown above and usually have a rufous wash to the breast (sometimes appears scaly or barred) that often extends to the lower belly and flanks. Sub-adult males have variable plumage and some may look similar to females while others have a variable amount of rufous on the throat like the adult males. Female birds have dark uppertail coverts that are concolourous with its dark tail (like the Taiga Flycatcher) and occasionally have a rufous wash to the breast
Note: A sub-adult Kashmir Flycatcher may lack the black malar streak and instead have a grey border to its rufous underparts making it resemble a Red-breasted Flycatcher; however, the rufous underparts are generally more extensive in Kashmir.
The Call
The rattle of the Kashmir Flycatcher is nearly identical to that of the Red-breasted Flycatcher. The Kashmir Flycatcher also has one unique “eep eep” call which in the field may sound remarkably similar to the “tseep tseep” call of Red-breasted Flycatcher but can be differentiated based on a spectrogram. The Kashmir Flycatcher’s call contains a higher-pitched note which is absent in Red-breasted Flycatcher.
Also, the Kashmir Flycatcher sometimes tends to repeatedly fan its tail in addition to the cocking, a behaviour that is not so frequently observed in the other two flycatchers. So, if you see a flycatcher repeatedly fanning its tail, start investigating because you may have a rare Kashmir Flycatcher in your midst!
While key features that help with identification are described, remember that many of these features are insufficient when considered in isolation. Separating these three - Red-breasted, Taiga & Kashmir - very similar flycatchers will often require considering a combination of features. A female-type flycatcher with a dark bill, for example, can be any of the three. But a female-type flycatcher with a dark bill, dark uppertail coverts, and a ‘drrrrt’ call (with individual notes not discernible) is a Taiga Flycatcher! Ficedula flycatchers are very active birds and may not always be cooperative. Sometimes all you get is a passing glimpse in a thicket. In such cases you can always identify the bird as “Taiga/Red-breasted Flycatcher” or “Ficedula sp.” and look for additional clues the next time.
The Red-breasted Flycatcher is distributed in Central, Eastern & South Eastern Europe (from Central Finland, South Eastern Sweden, North Germany, Austria, Croatia and Northern Greece) East to Urals, North West Kazakhstan, North Turkey, Caucasus and Northern Iran. The non-breeding distribution is mainly Pakistan and North, West & Central India and locally in SE Arabia.
It generally breeds in forest and woodland, mainly mixed deciduous stands, especially with beech (Fagus), but also in oak (Quercus) forest; also in spruce (Picea) forest in the North of its range. It prefers tall trees with much undergrowth, light canopy, and an open zone with perching twigs between canopy and undergrowth layer; favours glades, clearings and areas near water. Also occurs in orchards and vineyards. In Austria, territories were correlated positively with the numbers of hornbeams (Carpinus betulus), the age of the stands and volume of lying dead trunks, and were sited mainly found in stands with high levels of mammalian game activity and accordingly a more sparse bush layer and less ground cover; the species also avoided areas that were intensively managed. Breeds in lowlands and hills, to 2350 m in Caucasus. In non-breeding areas they occur in groves, forest plantations, open woodland, forest edge, secondary growth, parks, orchards, and urban gardens with large trees; to at least 2100 m. On passage also in scrub; recorded on passage in N Africa (where scarce) in woodland, plantations and gardens, often in large trees, but also in taller bushes and thickets in drier country, and at Saharan oases.
It is a long-distance migrant. Most individuals migrate South East to non-breeding grounds in Pakistan and India, but a few (presumably from the Western populations) regularly move across East Mediterranean and North East Africa from early Sept to Dec; winters irregularly in small numbers also in the South Caspian region, Afghanistan, Sinai, Arabian Gulf states and Oman. In autumn they occur also West & South West of their breeding areas, with Oct–Jan records South to Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and North Senegal, and a few possibly winter regularly South of the Sahara in areas of West Africa. It migrates alone or in small flocks. The Autumn movement is protracted, with three main routes to India and Pakistan: South of the Black Sea across the Balkans, Bosphorus and North Turkey; North of the Black Sea across Caucasus into Iran; and South along Urals and East of the Caspian, through West Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Departure from Europe begins late Jul, is most pronounced between Aug to mid Sept, continuing to early Oct, Russian birds leaving mid Aug to end Nov; passage through Iran end Sept to early Nov, and main passage through Afghanistan in Oct; arrives in Pakistan and rest of winter quarters from late Aug to Nov, mainly Sept–Oct. Return passage begins mid Mar, peak in Apr and continuing into May; arrivals in Caucasus from early Mar, but main passage there, on Black Sea coast and in Turkey mid Apr to early May; reaches Russian breeding grounds Apr–May, and Central Europe late Apr to early Jun; occasional spring records in East Libya and Egypt mid Apr to early May. They are a Vagrant/rare visitor in China, Japan, Iceland, Faeroes, France, Spain (including the Canary Is), Portugal, Britain (almost 5000 records between 1968 and 2016) and Switzerland (in Western Europe mainly in autumn, to lesser extent spring, exceptionally winter). It is almost time for them to be in India once again and hopefully this season I will be able to spot and photograph the Male.
The Red-breasted Flycatcher eats mainly insects and other invertebrates, especially beetles (Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneae), but also dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata), stoneflies (Plecoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), earwigs (Dermaptera), bugs (Hemiptera), adult and larval lepidopterans, adult and larval flies (Diptera), ants and wasps (Hymenoptera), harvestmen (Opiliones), earthworms (Oligochaeta), woodlice (Isopoda) and snails (Gastropoda). Usually solitary often skulking in the canopy or in bushes. It hunts mainly from middle to lower layers, hopping and creeping among foliage, and sometimes hovering like a Phylloscopus warbler. Makes short, looping sallies to catch prey in the air, with agile flight and rapid wingbeats; frequently forages from the ground, including among grass. In damp places, takes aquatic invertebrates, such as larval water beetles (Dytiscidae). Regularly regurgitates pellets. Often flicks wings, and cocks and flirts tail.
The song is melodious, resonant and loud, characterized by whistling notes on a descending scale, notes variously rendered “tui”, “dlu”, “didle”, “diu-tvi-diu-tvi” and similar, often likened to the song of the Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) but also not unlike that of the Pied Flycathcer (Ficedula hypoleuca); song often preceded by “zit” calls. Call a thin, high-pitched, short “dzik” or “zit”, sometimes protracted into loose ticking “tk tk tk…” series; also rattling “zrrrt” of alarm and plaintive “hveet”.
The Red-breasted Flycatcher nests mid May to end Jun in Central & Eastern Europe and in late May and Jun in the former USSR. It is usually single-brooded, Monogamous and solitary nester. The nest is built by the female, in 3–5 days, a cup of moss, dry grass stalks and leaves, root fibres and hair, lined with hair, sometimes lichen woven into outside, the external diameter is 84–100 mm, with a depth of 48–65 mm, inner diameter of 50–52 mm and depth 25–45 mm. The nest is placed usually 1–3 m (sometimes 4 m or higher, up to 21 m recorded) above ground in hole in tree or wall, among side shoots of trunk, sometimes on branch close to trunk, or even fork in branches, and nest boxes are also accepted. They can occasionally be located in bush (nest may then be domed). The clutch is 4–7 (usually 5–6) whitish, sometimes faintly buff or blue-green eggs with fine reddish-brown markings typically concentrated at larger end, mean size 16·5 mm × 12·6 mm, laid at daily intervals; incubation by female alone (provisioned by male), usually from last egg, or 1–2 days before last egg laid, period 12–15 days (usually 12–13 days); chicks are brooded by the female and fed by both parents, nestling period is 11–15 days (usually 12–13 days); young fed for at least 4–5 days after fledging, independent by 27–29 days of age.
The Red-breasted Flycatcher is not globally threatened and is listed as Least Concern.
These birds were photographed in the forest below the temple complex of Uma Maheshwaram. The area abounds in flora and fauna and hosts the endemic Yellow-throated Bulbul. Read about some of the bulbuls I have photographed.
For a print of the beautiful birds from my various sojourns click on the button below to read my process and order a limited edition canvas.
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