Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush Stizorhina fraseri Scientific name definitions

18–20 cm; 27–44 g. The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush is a short-billed, short-legged, and rather stout flycatcher-shaped thrush with a noticeably upright posture. It has the habit of flirting its outer tail. The nominate subspecies has a grayish-brown head, a rufous-brown mantle, lower back and scapulars, and a brighter chestnut rump. This species has olive-brown wings with a rufous-tawny wingbar above and a rusty-buff diagonal bar below. The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush has an olive-brown tail with rufous-tawny outer feathers, a grayish throat, and the rest of the underparts are tawny. Its bill is blackish with a pale lower base. The legs are pale brown. Sexes are similar. Juveniles are duller and darker.

The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush has a close relationship to Finsch's Flycatcher-Thrush (Stizorhina finschi) supported by phylogenetic analyses. Hybridization occurs in Nigeria, and the two species are sometimes treated as conspecific, including in the recent world list (1 Dickinson, E. C., and L. Christidis, Editors (2014). The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Fourth Edition. Volume 2. Aves Press, Eastbourne, UK. Close ). However, the Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush does not respond to playback from Finsch's Flycatcher-Thrush.

Three subspecies are recognized.

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SUBSPECIES

Stizorhina fraseri rubicunda Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Southeast Nigeria east to southern Central African Republic and northern DR Congo, south to northwest Angola and northwest Zambia.

Identification Summary

The subspecies <em>rubicunda</em> is slightly paler than the nominate.

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SUBSPECIES

Stizorhina fraseri vulpina Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Southern South Sudan, northeastern DR Congo, and Uganda.

Identification Summary

Subspecies <em>vulpina</em> has a paler tail than other subspecies.

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SUBSPECIES

Stizorhina fraseri fraseri Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Bioko.

Identification Summary

See Field Identification, above.

Central Africa, from southeastern Nigeria and Bioko east to southern Central African Republic, northern DR Congo, extreme southern South Sudan, and Uganda, and south to northwestern Angola and extreme northwestern Zambia.

The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush occurs in lowland primary forests and old secondary growth, typically occupying edge habitats such as light gaps with decaying, snapped-off trunks 5–20 m high, streamsides, dense vegetation with numerous lianas, old plantations (cacao, coffee, banana), gallery forests, and overgrown disused agricultural land with old parasol trees (Musanga) and gingers (Afromomum). It is chiefly found in the understory but also in the middle strata and canopy. It has been recorded from sea level up to 1500 m; 0–800 m on Bioko and 700–1500 m in Uganda.

This species is sedentary in Gabon and probably throughout its range.

The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush mainly eats insects ca. 1 cm in length, especially ants (Hymenoptera), termites (Isoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), and flies (Diptera). It also eats moths, caterpillars, grasshoppers (Orthoptera), and cicadas (Cicadidae), as well as, occasionally, small snails and millipedes (Diplopoda). It sometimes consumes small fruits. The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush forages from a perch by aerial sallying, taking prey from trunks, foliage, the air, or, more rarely, the ground. It often joins mixed bird flocks, particularly in the dry season, and attends army-ant swarms, but not habitually.

This species' territorial song is a series of 4–5 high ascending whistles: wiii-wiii-wiii-wiii. Its countersinging is a faster, shorter wiit-wiit-wiit-wiit. When in more direct conflict, the Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush has a hoarser, vibrant swit-swit-swit-swit-swit. In courtship, this species has a subdued phrase, commonly beginning with a loud trill. As contact between pair members, the Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush utters a slow series of 3–4 slightly ascending whistles, weeeee-ee-eee-eeeee, calling up to 7–8 series in 30 seconds. It has a short siit call upon takeoff. This species also has a feeble, vibrant ascending sweet in anxiety, a louder weez weez weez version in alarm, and a hoarse scolding tswit-tswit-tswit when mobbing. Calls are often accompanied by the lifting and spreading of the tail.

The breeding season is closely tied to the rain, occurring in August, October, and December. Females in breeding condition and juveniles were recorded in March, and young were spotted in April in Cameroon and September and March in Gabon. Individuals in breeding condition were observed in September, October, January, and mainly March on Bioko. In Angola, birds in breeding condition were recorded from February to March, at least September in DRCongo, April and September in east Africa, and October in Zambia. The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush has a territory of ca. 4–6 ha. Its nest is a rudimentary, shallow cup of thin rootlets, moss, and leaves, placed 1.6–25 m (usually 10–20 m) above ground in an open cavity in the trunk, branch, or epiphyte roots. It once used an old nest of African Thrush (Turdus pelios). This species reportedly has a clutch of 1–2 eggs. There is no information on the incubation period. The nestling period is 14 days, and post-fledging dependence lasts at least one month. Two individuals ringed as adults were controlled after eight years.

The Rufous Flycatcher-Thrush is not globally threatened. It is common, but hard to detect, on Bioko. It is common to locally abundant in northeastern Gabon, with a density of ca. 22 pairs/km². This species is common in the Itombwe Mountains in eastern DR Congo.