The black-and-orange flycatcher (''Ficedula nigrorufa'') or black-and-rufous flycatcher is a species of
flycatcher endemic to the central and southern
Western Ghats, the
Nilgiris
The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
and
Palni hill ranges in southern India. It is unique among the ''Ficedula'' flycatchers in having rufous coloration on its back and prior to molecular studies was suggested to be related to the chats and thrushes.
Description
A distinctly coloured bird found mainly in the high-elevation areas of the
Western Ghats, the Nilgiris, the Palnis and associated hill ranges. The male is distinctly black headed with black wings. The female has the black replaced by dark brown and has a light eye-ring. They are usually seen singly or in pairs.
[
The young bird at around two weeks of age is brownish orange with a whitish vent and abdomen. The head has dark streaks and the wings appear bluish with a trace of brown. There is a pale ring around the eye and the orange tail appears stumpy. Eight weeks after fledging they appear almost like adults except for patches of brown feathers in the crown.
]
Distribution and habitat
The main population of this bird is found in the high elevation plateaus above areas of the Nilgiris, Palani Hills, Biligiriranga Hills
The Biligirirangana Hills or Biligirirangan Hills (as referred to in biology and geology) is a hill range situated in south-western Karnataka, at its border with Tamil Nadu (Erode District) in South India. The area is called Biligiri Ranganatha ...
(Bellaji and Honnametti), and Kannan Devan Hills
Kannan Devan Hills is a large village located in Devikulam taluk of Idukki district in the Indian state of Kerala.
The village of Kannan Devan Hills in Devikulam Taluk, was given on lease on 11 July 1877 by the Poonjar Thampuran to John Dani ...
. They prefer areas with high leaf litter and undergrowth in open shola
Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are foun ...
grassland habitats. The density was about per pair during the breeding season. It is a highly parochial bird and no local movements other than dispersal of young has been noted. To the north, it occurs in the Kudremukh National Park
Kudremukha(ಕುದುರೆ ಮುಖ) is a mountain range and name of a peak located in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station iron ore mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kil ...
and the Bababudan Hills and south to the Ashambu Hills. Some old records of the species from Maharashtra and Sri Lanka have been considered dubious.[
]
Behaviour and ecology
In the breeding season, March to May, these birds are very vocal and they have a repetitive "chee-ri-rirr" or a whistling song "whee-chee-ree-rirr". They feed on insects by flycatching low over the ground (under 2m height) and also pick insects from the ground.[ Territories are maintained by a pair throughout the year. The threat display involves the male pointing bill up, fanning the tail, opening wings and producing "keet-keet" notes. The alarm call is a ''zit-zit''. Males are usually involved in defense but females may sometimes join in. The nest is built by the female, placed in a low bush or fern. Two greyish speckled eggs form the usual clutch. Young birds are brownish and speckled.][ The nest is unlike that of most flycatchers and is large, coarse, ball-like and made from sedges. The nest has a foundation of dry leaves and ferns. The nest has an external diameter of about and the egg cavity which is devoid of any lining is about in diameter and deep. The nest is placed usually at the centre of a bush at about height with an entrance hole close to the top.
The peak feeding activity of the birds is early in the morning and towards dusk. During these period they capture as many as 100 insects an hour whereas at mid-day they are half as efficient.][
The black-and-orange flycatcher along with the ]rufous-chested flycatcher
The rufous-chested flycatcher (''Ficedula dumetoria'') is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropi ...
(''Ficedula dumetoria'') are the only sedentary species within the genus ''Ficedula'' and lack the longer and more pointed wing morphology of the long distant migrant members.
References
Further reading
* Khan, M.A.R. (1977) Ecology and Behaviour of the Black-and-Orange Flycatcher ''Muscicapa nigrorufa''. PhD Thesis, Bombay University, Bombay.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2225380
black-and-orange flycatcher
Birds of South India
black-and-orange flycatcher