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Ussher's Flycatcher Bradornis ussheri Scientific name definitions

Barry Taylor
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2006

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13 cm; 16–20g. Has long, pointed wings and slightly forked tail, giving appearance rather like that of a martin (Riparia). Plumage is very dark brown or blackish-brown above, with slightly paler feather margins on forehead and crown (faint scaly appearance); some have pale circum­orbital feathers; lores, cheek and ear-coverts dark greyish-brown; upperwing and tail darker than upperparts, and glossy; chin whitish; throat and underparts, including axillaries and underwing-coverts, dark greyish-brown, vent greyer, belly feathers obscurely tipped whitish; undertail-coverts blackish, broadly tipped white; iris brown or brownish-black; bill black; legs dark brown or brownish-black. Distinguished from similar B. fuliginosus by darker and unstreaked underparts. Sexes alike. Juvenile is like adult, but wing and tail feathers narrowly tipped white, underparts with very small whitish specks; immature undescribed.

Systematics History

See remarks under B. fuliginosus. Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Sierra Leone (except NW), NW, SW & SE Guinea, Liberia, S Ivory Coast and S Ghana (E to Aburi). Records from S Togo and S Nigeria doubtful (1).

Habitat

Recorded from clearings in lowland forest, forest edge, gallery forest in derived savanna, tall mangroves, logged forest and adjacent farms, and also open derived savanna near riverine woodland. Requires open areas with dead tall trees, or alternatively leafless boughs emerging from canopy.

Movement

None recorded.

Diet and Foraging

Food insects. Occurs in pairs or in small groups of 3–5 individuals; this species or B. fuliginosus has been seen in mixed-species flocks. Perches high (15 m or more) on dead branches, hawking insects in typical flycatcher manner, returning to same perch; occasionally flycatches from dead branch only 3–5 m above cleared ground. Feeds actively after rain.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Mostly silent. Song a short, simple, pleasant whistled phrase, repeated regularly. Calls include “tssrip” and buzzy “dzip”; said also to give quiet squeak.

Breeding

In Ivory Coast, adult seen on nest 18 m up in dead tree at edge of main clearing in Oct, and juveniles seen mostly in Jul–Aug but also in Apr. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Locally common to rare. Widespread and frequent in Sierra Leone, and abundant throughout Liberia. One of the commonest flycatchers in Taï Forest National Park, in Ivory Coast. Common in SW Ghana in logged forest and on farms, and probably easily overlooked in closed forest. Rare in Nigeria, where 3–4 sight records from mouth of R Benin, and records also from E (Utange and Serti); this species or B. fuliginosus recorded also near R Benin at Erin Ijesha. Reported observation from Senegal (Basse Casamance National Park) considered open to doubt. Appears to tolerate disturbed and artificial habitats, and may therefore be under no significant threat at present.

Distribution of the Ussher's Flycatcher - Range Map
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  • Year-round
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Distribution of the Ussher's Flycatcher

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Taylor, B. (2020). Ussher's Flycatcher (Bradornis ussheri), 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.ussfly1.01
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