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Pygmy Flycatcher Ficedula hodgsoni Scientific name definitions

Peter Clement
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2006

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

9–10 cm. Tiny, small-billed and short-tailed, arboreal flycatcher, resembling a warbler (Sylviidae) in actions. Male nominate race has bright ultramarine-blue crown and upperparts, including edges of upperwing-coverts, inner flight-feathers and tail; lower forehead and lores to behind eye blackish, forecrown to over eye paler or brighter blue; almost entirely deep orange below, paler on lower belly and whitish on undertail-coverts; iris dark brown; bill black; legs bluish or purplish-grey. Distinguished from Ficedula hyperythra by shorter tail, bluer (not slaty-blue) upperparts, lack of super­cilium, lack of rufous-brown in flight-feathers. Female has olive-brown head and upperparts, slightly warmer or more rufous-tinged on edges of flight-feathers, rump and uppertail-coverts, tail dull brown, narrow pale buffish eyering, mostly rufous-tinged orange-buff below, usually whiter on chin and throat, belly also white, bill as male but with slate-grey base of lower mandible; distinguished from female Ficedula sapphira by slightly smaller size, shorter tail, rufous-brown edges of flight-feathers, rump and tail-coverts, more uniform ­rufous-buff underparts. Juvenile undescribed. Race sondaica resembles nominate, but crown brighter blue, forehead, lores and cheeks black, female has colder olive-brown upperparts and buffish-rufous wash on breast and flanks.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Has often been placed in monospecific Muscicapella, but genetic data (1, 2, 3) confirm it is nested within Ficedula. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Ficedula hodgsoni hodgsoni Scientific name definitions

Distribution

C and E Himalayas E to NE India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam), W and N Myanmar, S China (SE Tibet, W and SE Yunnan) and C Mainland Southeast Asia; probably winter visitor E Myanmar and NW and W Thailand, but status uncertain (4).

SUBSPECIES

Ficedula hodgsoni sondaica Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and N Borneo.

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Breeds in dense, montane broadleaf forests and high-altitude elfin forest and subalpine Baeckia scrub; in Himalayas between 2100 m and 3500 m, in Peninsular Malaysia at 1100–1830 m, and in Sumatra at 1100–2400 m. In non-breeding season found in tall deciduous forest, secondary scrub at forest edges, clearings and along streams at lower levels in foothills and adjacent plains, down to 300–750 m in N India, possibly lower in Nepal.

Movement

Resident and short-distance altitudinal migrant.

Diet and Foraging

Diet not well known but includes small invertebrates, particularly flies (Diptera). Usually in pairs, or solitary in non-breeding season; joins mixed-species foraging flocks. Inconspicuous and easily overlooked in forest canopy, but forages also in lower levels in thickets and scrub. Forages rapidly through foliage of lower and middle levels of forest, inspecting foliage, branches and epiphyte clumps, and making aerial pursuit of flushed insects; also briefly hovers. Flicks wings and cocks tail while drooping wings.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a short and fairly weak “tzzit-che-che-che-heeee” or “seet-seet-seet-seet-seet -brrrrrr” and a weak “tsip”, “tip” or “tup”; low “churr” as contact or alarm note.

Breeding

Poorly known; very few nests found. Season mid-Mar to Jul. Both adults gather nest material, but nest built by female alone, an open cup of moss and black plant fibres, placed up to 6m above ground in thick stems of creeper growing around tree stump. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Scarce in Nepal, and uncommon in N India and Bhutan. Uncommon in Malay Peninsula and throughout SE Asian range; rare in NW Thailand; status in N & C Laos and Vietnam (W Tonkin and C Annam) uncertain, possibly resident but may be mainly a non-breeding visitor; a nest was found in 2013 in the Central Highlands of Vietnam (5). Rare in Borneo.

Distribution of the Pygmy Flycatcher - Range Map
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  • Migration
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Distribution of the Pygmy Flycatcher

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Clement, P. (2020). Pygmy Flycatcher (Ficedula hodgsoni), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.pybfly1.01
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