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Steel-blue Flycatcher Myiagra ferrocyanea Scientific name definitions

Phil Gregory
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 20, 2020

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13 cm. Small flycatcher with upright posture. Male nominate race has head, upperparts and upper breast black with purplish gloss, underparts white; iris dark brown; bill grey, tip black; legs blackish. Female has grey head merging into rufous back, dark brown wings with rufous feather edgings, dark brown central tail feathers, rest of tail rufous, underparts whitish. Immature is similar to female, but bill mainly black; subadult male moulting into adult plumage has black breastband separating paler throat and belly. Races differ in plumage of female: cinerea female has grey upperparts, grey tinge on throat, buff tinge on underparts; feminina female has grey back, with dull brownish on wings and tail; malaitae female has grey back (glossy brown on immature male) and dull brown wings and tail, except for rusty fringes of secondaries.

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.

One recent genetic analysis (1) found this species to be close to M. pluto; further study required. Race feminina relatively distinctive for absence of rufous tones in the female plumage, and vocalizations of both feminina and malaitae appear highly distinctive but are based on single recordings of each; more research needed. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Myiagra ferrocyanea ferrocyanea Scientific name definitions

Myiagra ferrocyanea ferrocyanea
M. f. ferrocyanea +1

Distribution

Choiseul, Isabel and Guadalcanal, in Solomon Is.
SUBSPECIES

Myiagra ferrocyanea feminina Scientific name definitions

Myiagra ferrocyanea feminina
M. f. feminina

Distribution

New Georgia Is (W Solomons).
SUBSPECIES

Myiagra ferrocyanea cinerea Scientific name definitions

Myiagra ferrocyanea cinerea
M. f. cinerea

Distribution

Buka I and Bougainville I.
SUBSPECIES

Myiagra ferrocyanea malaitae Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Malaita (E Solomons).

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

Native forest and forest edges, secondary growth, native gardens, tall mangroves and coastal casuarinas (Casuarina); sea-level to at least 1500 m.

Movement

Sedentary.

Diet and Foraging

Arthropods. Frequents mainly canopy and outer foliage, but comes to middle stratum, sometimes within a few metres of ground on top of small trees in clearings. Active, noisy and conspicuous, moving rapidly and systematically from tree to tree, flitting from branch to branch. Catches insects by sallying and hovering. Shivers tail, as congeners.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Usual call a rising or falling drawn-out whistle, e.g. “tuuu-iii”, given 2–6 times, reminiscent of that of Shining Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus). Harsh rasping note typical of genus, often given as alarm; also repeated weak rasps and a quickly repeated mewing note.

Breeding

Nest-building on Buka in Dec. Nest a shallow cup of vegetable fibres and bark, bound with spider webs and lined with finer fibres, decorated on outside with lichen, placed 10–20 m above ground on horizontal fork. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Solomon Group EBA. Uncommon on Buka and Bougainville. Fairly common and more widespread in Solomons, although absent from San Cristobal and Rennell. No obvious threats.
Distribution of the Steel-blue Flycatcher - Range Map
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Distribution of the Steel-blue Flycatcher

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Gregory, P. (2020). Steel-blue Flycatcher (Myiagra ferrocyanea), 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.stbfly1.01
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