Dull-blue flycatcher

The Dull-blue Flycatcher (Eumyias sordida) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae.

Dull-blue Flycatcher
Dull-blue Flycatcher (below) with Brown-breasted Flycatcher and Black-naped Monarch
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Muscicapidae
Genus:	Eumyias
Species:	E. sordida
Binomial name
Eumyias sordida (Walden, 1870)
Synonyms
Stoparola sordida

This species is an endemic resident breeder in the hills of central Sri Lanka.

The Dull-blue Flycatcher breeds in deciduous mountain forest, invariably above 600m, although it is not common below 900m. The main breeding season is in March and April, but a second brood is often reared later in the year.

The cup-shaped nest is a lined compact mass of moss. The site is usually a well-shaded rock ledge. The normal clutch is two or three brown-spotted pink eggs are laid. One of the best places to see this species is Horton Plains National Park.

This species is 15 cm long. It is similar in shape to the Spotted Flycatcher and has a loud melodic song.. Adults are ashy blue, with a whitish belly. There is a black patch between the broad black bill and the eye, bordered with brighter blue above and below. Sexes are similar, but females are slightly duller.

Juvenile Dull-blue Flycatchers are brown, heavily spotted on the head, back, wing-coverts and breast with pale buff; their flight feathers are broadly edged with blue-grey.

This is relatively easy bird to see, despite its forest habitat. It feeds mainly on flying insects, beetles, caterpillars and other insects, but also eats berries.

Taxonomic fatcs

Gender agreement of species name follows David and Gosselin (2002b).

Assessment information by IUCN

This species is believed to have a moderately small range, within which habitat is declining in extent and quality and as a result it is considered Near Threatened.

Population

The population size is unknown, but the species is described as common, especially at higher altitudes (del Hoyo et al. 2006). Population gradually decreasing.

Habitat & Ecology

It occurs in well-wooded areas, at forest edges and sometimes in shady gardens from 1,220-1,830 m. During the non-breeding season it is occasionally recorded down to 450 m in the wetter lowlands. It forages for insects and berries, low down amongst undergrowth, but also on the ground among rocks. Breeding takes place between mid-March and September.

Threats

While it is resilient to forest degradation because of its preference for edge habitats, total clearance of habitat is a potential threat in its limited range. Forest on the island has suffered rapid degradation and fragmentation in the past decades through excessive gathering of fuelwood, clearance for permanent agriculture, shifting cultivation, fire urbanisation and logging. Closed-canopy forest is estimated to have declined from 29,000 km2 (44% of the island's area) in 1956 to 12,260 km2 in 1983. It is feared that this loss will continue and the status of this species therefore requires monitoring.

Conservation Actions Underway

No species-specific actions are known, but a number of protected areas occur within its range.

Conservation Actions Proposed

Assess rates of forest loss within its altitudinal range by remote sensing satellite images. Infer trend estimates based upon the findings. Generate density estimates within different habitats and use these to inform a global population estimate. If appropriate recommend the protection of key forest patches within its range.

In Culture

This bird appears in a 2 rupee Sri Lankan postal stamp.

Other synonyms

Czech: Lejsek cejlonský, lejsek srílanský

Danish: Sri Lanka-irfluesnapper

German: Ceylonschnäpper

English: Ceylon Blue Flycatcher, Ceylon Flycatcher, Dull blue Flycatcher, Dull Blue-Flycatcher, Dull Verditer Flycatcher, Dull Verditer-flycatcher, Dull-blue Flycatcher, Dusky Blue Flycatcher, Oriental Dusky Flycatcher, Oriental Flycatcher, Sri Lanka dusky blue flycatcher, Sri Lanka Flycatcher, Sri Lankan Dusky Blue Flycatcher

Spanish: Papamoscas de Ceilán, Papamoscas de Sri Lanka

Finnish: Ceyloninsieppo, srilankansieppo

French: Gobemouche de Ceylan, Gobemouche du Sri Lanka

Italian: Pigliamosche blu del Sri Lanka, Pigliamosche bluastro

Japanese: seirombitaki, seironbitaki, seironhitaki

Japanese: セイロンヒタキ, セイロンビタキ

Latin: Eumyias sordida, Eumyias sordidus, Muscicapa sordida

Dutch: Ceylonvliegenvanger, Ceylon-vliegenvanger

Norwegian: Lavendelfluesnapper

Polish: mucholówka modra, muchołówka modra

Russian: Однотонная лазурная мухоловка

Slovak: niltava cejlónska

Swedish: Lavendelflugsnappare

Chinese: 暗蓝仙鹟

References

• Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6
• http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/106006543/0
• http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=75A6445E59011D1E