Northern Black Flycatcher

Overview

The Melaenornis edolioides is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family, Muscicapidae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is an insectivorous resident breeder in tropical Africa.

Identification

• Adult plumage is uniformly black, while juveniles are blackish-brown with buff scaling.
• Approximately 20 centimetres long, this large upright flycatcher has a long, square-ended tail.
• The tail shape distinguishes it from the fork-tailed drongo and the shorter-tailed common square-tailed drongo.
• The song is described as simple and musical, accompanied by a thin 'tsee-whee' call.

Habitat

This species inhabits moist wooded areas and cultivation. It breeds as a resident in tropical Africa ranging from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to Zaire and Tanzania, with nesting occurring in the wet season.

Diet

The bird is an insectivorous species. No specific details on foraging behaviour are provided in the reference material.

Did you know?

The northern black flycatcher often nests by reusing the old nest of another species rather than building a new structure from scratch.