Male © Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok eBird S52864267 Macaulay Library ML 142693621
Female © Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok
Male © Matthew Kwan
Male © Paul Hyde

Hill Blue Flycatcher Cyornis whitei

Sign in to see your badges

Identification

POWERED BY MERLIN

Medium-sized confusing flycatcher. Male is beautifully colored, with deep blue upperparts, orange throat and breast, and white belly. Note dark face and electric blue highlight on the forehead. Female is duller. Very similar to closely-related Large Blue Flycatcher: note marginally smaller bill without a noticeable hooked tip, less contrastingly pale throat, and darker legs. Male Hill Blue Flycatcher has more orange on the throat and a dark blue rump. Breeds in hilly and montane broadleaf thickets, often in areas with dense undergrowth; migratory birds winter at lower altitudes. Song mixes melodious warbling and whistling notes with harsh, rasping ones. Calls are a loud “chak” or “tak,” reminiscent of stones tapping.

POWERED BY MERLIN