The ashy flycatcher (Muscicapa caerulescens ) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and savanna. It has a disputed generic placement, with different authorities variously putting it in Muscicapa, Fraseria, or other genera. The species does not display sexual dimorphism, with both sexes being grey in colour with pale grey or white underparts.
The species has a small, thin, and pointed beak adapted for eating insects. Its diet is mostly insectivorous, although it also eats berries and small geckoes. The birds are very active, foraging singly, in groups, or in mixed-species flocks. They forage in the upper levels of the canopy, with prey being caught with small circular flights, from foliage, and being gleaned from the bark and leaves. The species breeds in solitary pairs, with each pair maintaining a territory of 1–4 hectare and raising young alone. A variety of vocalisations are used by the species, and there is very little geographical variation in calls.
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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FlockingFlocking birds are those that tend to gather to forage or travel collectively. Avian flocks are typically associated with migration. Flocking also ...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe ashy flycatcher is 13–15 cm (5.1–5.9 in) long. Adults of the nominate subspecies have bluish-grey crowns and upperparts, with very pale grey chins and throats, pale grey breasts and flanks, white bellies and undertail coverts, and grey thighs. They have black loral lines with white stripes above, along with pale, well-defined eye-rings. The flight feathers and tail are brownish-black and the upperwing coverts are brownish-black with grey fringes. The axillaries and underwing coverts are white.
It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Eswatini, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The ashy flycatcher inhabits a variety of forest and woodland. It occurs near forest edges and enters forest only if it has been logged or opened by roads. It is also known to inhabit open gallery forest, secondary growth, riverine strips, and some plantations. It occurs in peanut and cassava fields with scattered tall trees and borders of shrubs or bushes, along with miombo woodland, dense woodland thickets, open riverine woodland, and thornveld and thorn-scrub. It mainly inhabits altitudes of up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), although it is known to occur at altitudes of up to 1,800 m (5,900 ft) in eastern Africa.
It is a restless and active bird that is constantly moving and shifting. It has been observed sunbathing on the ground.
The ashy flycatcher forages singly, in pairs, or in groups of up to seven individuals. It is also known to sometimes join mixed-species flocks while foraging. Foraging is typically done in the upper levels of vegetation, between the treetops and the undercanopy. Ashy flycatchers typically sit upright on exposed perches. Food is caught by making short circular flights to catch flying insects or hovering to catch prey in foliage. It also gleans insects from foliage and bark.
Its diet consists of mostly insects, mainly beetles, flies, grasshoppers, adult and larval moths and butterflies, winged ants, and termites. Prey tend to be 5–35 mm (0.20–1.38 in) in size, with the majority being 15–20 mm (0.59–0.79 in) in size. They have also been observed eating small fruit and berries, and rarely, geckos up to 5 cm (2.0 in) in length.
The birds are monogamous. Pairs are solitary and territorial, maintaining territories of up to 20 ha, although breeding pairs keep territories of only 1–4 ha. They are known to inhabit old weaver bird nests. Eggs are laid in clutches of 2–3, with the colour being described as "glossy; creamy white to light buff, finely speckled yellowish brown or reddish." The incubation period is 14 days.
The ashy flycatcher was listed as being of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on the IUCN Red List due to its large range, stable population, and occurrence in a number of protected areas. The population in Mozambique is estimated to number over 5,000 individuals.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...