Identification
This handsome little flycatcher has the endearing habit of fanning its tail and flicking its wings when agitated. The male’s long slender white eyebrows and orange breast make him unmistakable; wintering male Mugimaki Flycatchers may cause some confusion, but that species has a smaller, block-like eyebrow patch and a broader, shorter white wing patch. Females are brown above and whitish below with an orange chest and rufous tail; her combination of plain brown wings, warm-toned tail, and a fairly uniform head pattern separate her from female Snowy-browed and Mugimaki Flycatchers. Female “blue flycatchers” can be similar, but they are more slender and have proportionally longer bills. Found in foothill and montane forests, where it forages in dense low thickets, typically singly or in pairs. Song is a brief 3–4-note phrase of very high, thin notes: “tsee-a-tsee-tsee”, or “tsee-ah-tsee”.