The broad-billed flycatcher (''Myiagra ruficollis'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family Monarchidae. It is found in northern Australia, the Lesser Sunda Islands and southern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, and subtropical or tropical moist

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial ...

Taxonomy and systematics

Broad Billed Flycatcher with caterpillar

The broad-billed flycatcher was originally described in the genus '' Platyrhynchos''. The name "broad-billed flycatcher" is also used as an alternate name for the

Melanesian flycatcher The Melanesian flycatcher (''Myiagra caledonica'') is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. The species is found on islands in Melanesia. Taxonomy and systematics It is closely related to the Vanikoro flycatcher. Alte ...

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized: * ''M. r. ruficollis'' - (

Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collect ...

, 1818): Found on southern and eastern Lesser Sunda Islands and islands in the

Flores Sea The Flores Sea covers of water in Indonesia. The sea is bounded on the north by the island of Celebes and on the south by Sunda Islands of Flores and Sumbawa. Geography The seas that border the Flores Sea are the Bali Sea (to the west), Java ...

* Buff-bellied flycatcher (''M. r. fulviventris'') - Sclater, PL, 1883: Originally described as a separate species until 2008. Also known as Tanimbar flycatcher but is not to be confused with the species of the same name, '' Ficedula riedeli''. Found on the

Tanimbar Islands The Tanimbar Islands, also called ''Timur Laut'', are a group of about 65 islands in the Maluku province of Indonesia. The largest and most central of the islands is Yamdena; others include Selaru to the southwest of Yamdena, Larat and Ford ...

* ''M. r. mimikae'' - Ogilvie-Grant, 1911: Originally described as a separate species. Found in southern New Guinea,

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a ...

(off south-western New Guinea), islands of the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost extremity of the Australian mai ...

and northern and north-eastern Australia

Description

In northern Australia, the broad-billed flycatcher is commonly found in moist forests and scrub surrounding permanent and seasonal fresh water areas such as billabongs and wet season marshes. Its size ranges from 14 to 17 cm. The bird feeds in the forest canopy on insects and small invertebrates. Unlike co-resident related species such as the paperbark flycatcher (''M. nana'') the broad-billed flycatcher is rarely seen hawking for insects in open areas outside the canopy. Broad Billed Flycatcher

References

broad-billed flycatcher Birds of the Lesser Sunda Islands Birds of New Guinea Birds of the Northern Territory Birds of Queensland broad-billed flycatcher Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Monarchidae-stub