Kashmir Flycatcher

Overview

The Kashmir flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra) is a small passerine bird in the family Muscicapidae that was formerly considered a subspecies of the red-breasted flycatcher. It is classified as a vulnerable species with a decreasing population and severely fragmented breeding range.

Identification

• Size: Approximately 13 cm long.
• Male plumage: Grey-brown back with an orange-red throat, breast and flanks bordered with black.
• Female and first-winter plumage: Browner upperparts; red underparts may be reduced to a pinkish wash; tail darker than the back with white on the lower basal half of the outer feathers.
• Behaviour: Flicks its tail up while perching.
• Vocalisations: Song is a short melodic 'sweet-eet sweet-eet-did-he'; calls include a sharp 'chak' and a harsh rattling 'trrr' accompanied by wing flicking.

Habitat

Breeds in temperate mixed deciduous forests at altitudes of 1800–2400 m in the north-west Himalayas, often in mixed broad-leaved forest with Perrottetia and Corylus. It is migratory, wintering in the hills of central Sri Lanka, the Nilgiris, and the Western Ghats of India.

Diet

The Kashmir flycatcher is an insectivorous species, though specific foraging techniques beyond perching are not detailed in the reference material.

Did you know?

One of the best places to observe this rare species in Sri Lanka is Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya.