White-bellied Blue Flycatcher

Overview

The white-bellied blue flycatcher (Cyornis pallidipes) is a small passerine bird endemic to the Western Ghats and Nilgiris of southwest India. It belongs to the family Muscicapidae and is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• Males are indigo blue with an ultramarine blue supercilium and forehead, featuring a greyish-white belly bordered by a smoky grey wash.
• Females are olive brown above with a rufous throat and breast that fades to white on the belly, and possess whitish lores.
• Both sexes are approximately 13 cm long with a longish beak; females have a chestnut tail lacking the black and white pattern of similar species.
• The song is a low, rambling series of rising and falling broken notes interspersed with clicks and squeaks, audible only at close quarters.

Habitat

This species inhabits dense forest and sholas in the Western Ghats, ranging from the foothills to about 1700 m elevation. Its distribution extends from Mahabaleshwar through the Nilgiris and Biligirirangan Hills to southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Diet

The bird forages primarily in the undergrowth within the shade of the dense forest canopy, making aerial forays to capture insects.

Did you know?

Its nest is a rough cup of moss neatly lined on the inside and placed low on a moss-covered rock, tree hole, or mud-bank, usually containing four pale sea-green eggs with brown spotting.