Cashmere dwarf flycatcher
| Cashmere dwarf flycatcher | ||||||||||||
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Male of the cashmere flycatcher ( Ficedula subrubra ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ficedula subrubra | ||||||||||||
| ( EJO Hartert & Steinbacher , 1934) |
The cashmere dwarf flycatcher ( Ficedula subrubra ) is a songbird species from the flycatcher family (Muscicapidae), which colonizes a very small area in the northwestern Himalayas . It extends from the Neelum Valley in Asad Kashmir in northeastern Pakistan over the Kazinag mountain range to the Pir Panjal in Himachal Pradesh in northwest India . Due to its small distribution area, the species is considered endangered ( vulnerable ) by the IUCN . It is primarily threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation. The portfolio development is negative.
description
The cashmere dwarf flycatcher is 13 cm long and about the size of a pied flycatcher and weighs 9–12 g. The iris is brown. The upper bill is brown, the lower bill yellowish. The legs and feet are dark brown. Males and females differ significantly.
In adult males in brood plumage, the forehead, reins, eye area and sides of the neck are gray. The rest of the top is umbra colored, but a little more ash colored at the rump. The area from the throat over the chest is brick red to orange. It is bordered by a black line that extends from the base of the beak to the sides of the chest, where it is slightly wider. On the upper abdomen and flanks, the orange color runs out towards the whitish lower abdomen, the under tail-coverts are beige, the thighs are ash-colored. The small arm covers are umber brown with a gray tint, the wings and other upper wing covers are dark brown with lighter hems. Under wing-coverts and axillary feathers are beige and whitish towards the wing edge. Upper tail-coverts and control feathers are blackish. The three outer pairs of control springs are white at the base, the one next to it only at the base of the outer vane. The simple dress of the male has not yet been described. The orange throat and chest area is probably less extensive.
The top of the female is more light brown than that of the male. The area of the face is grayish-white, the chin and throat are white-beige. The chest and flanks are faded reddish beige, the rest of the underside is white. A gray tint on the rump is missing. Under wing-coverts and axillary feathers are yellowish.
Young birds are dark brown with yellowish beige spots and a blackish tail. Immature birds resemble the female.
voice
The singing is a short, chirping, melodious verse that rises a bit at the end and was paraphrased in English as sweet-eat, sweet-eat-did-he . The repertoire of calls consists of a deep snarling, a sharp chak and a high wiep . These calls are also often ranked.
Way of life
The cashmere dwarf flycatcher breeds mainly in deciduous forests of walnut trees , prunus species and willows . In particular, stands with dense undergrowth of Parrotia persica and hazelnuts are preferred. Sometimes the species also colonizes mixed forests or semi-open habitats. The altitude distribution is between 1800 and 2700 m.
The diet consists of insects and is believed to be similar to that of the miniature flycatcher . It is hunted from waiting areas below the shady canopy, which are usually less than 6 m high. Foraging on the ground was also observed in winter quarters.
The breeding season begins in the second half of May, but mostly in June. Presumably there is a monogamous seasonal marriage. The nest is a messy bowl made of leaves, moss and bark fibers and is lined with hair and feathers. It is usually 1–3 m, more rarely up to 12 m high in small tree hollows or bark crevices. The clutch comprises four to five, rarely just three eggs.
The Kashmiri dwarf flycatcher is a migratory bird whose wintering areas are in Sri Lanka and probably in the Indian Western Ghats . The short train takes place from September and leads across the Indian subcontinent . In the West Indies the species can be found from September / October, in Sri Lanka from October. On the train and in winter quarters, the species can be found in gardens, tea plantations and on the edges of forests. The altitude distribution in Sri Lanka reaches up to 900 m. In spring, the species arrives in the breeding areas from the second half of April.
literature
- Barry Taylor: Kashmir Flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra) (2006), in: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, AD Christie, E. de Juana (eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive , Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2014
Web links
- Ficedula subrubra in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2012. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2012. Accessed July 19, 2015.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Ficedula subrubra in the Internet Bird Collection
- Ficedula subrubra photos in the Oriental Bird Club image database , accessed July 19, 2015