Kashmir Flycatcher

About the Kashmir Flycatcher

The Kashmir flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It breeds in the Northwest Himalayas and winters in southern India and Sri Lanka. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the red-breasted flycatcher, Ficedula parva, which is its closest living relative. Males are distinctive in having a blackish border to the reddish throat while the females can easily be confused with those of F. parva.

The Kashmir flycatcher is 13 cm long, an insectivorous species closely related to the red-breasted flycatcher and sharing the habits of flicking its tail up while perching. The male has a grey-brown back with an orange-red throat, breast and flanks, bordered with black on the throat and breast. Females and first-winter birds have slightly browner upperparts, and the red of the underparts may be reduced to just a pinkish wash. The females have the tail darker than the back with white on the lower basal half of the outer feathers. The male of the similar taiga flycatcher, Ficedula albicilla, has the reddish-orange area limited to the throat and the top of the breast, and lacks the black border.

It breeds in the north... Wikipedia →