Blue-fronted Flycatcher Eumyias hoevelli Scientific name definitions

15 cm. Medium-sized, large-billed flycatcher. Male has deep blue head to nape and chin to upper breast (forming a hood), with brighter shining blue on forehead extending along side of crown to behind eye; lower forehead to lores and face slightly darker than rest of head; upperparts, including upperwing, olive-brown, inner webs of flight feathers blackish, tail similar but with rust-brown outer edges; lower breast to undertail coverts deep orange; iris dark brown or blackish; bill and legs black. Female similar, but hood gray or gray-brown, chin and throat grayish-buff. Juvenile is brownish, with buff spots and wing covert tips above and blackish bars and scaling below.

Previously placed in genus Niltava or Cyornis.

Central and southeastern Sulawesi.

Upper montane rainforest and moss forest, between 1,400 m and 2,300 m.

Food not well known; includes small invertebrates. Occurs alone, in pairs and in mixed-species flocks. Generally inconspicuous. Forages in undergrowth to lower middle levels of forest trees, mostly below 3 m; catches insects by gleaning among leaves.

Song, throughout the day, a short, soft note followed by a loud, rich series of up to 20 notes like those of a Turdus thrush, varying little in pitch; also has shorter series of up to 5 discordant notes and a loud tsat-tsat-tsat. Responds to imitations of song.

Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Sulawesi Endemic Bird Area. Common within small global range. Present in Lore Lindu National Park. Rather easy to overlook; best detected when it is singing.