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Yellow-rumped Flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia Scientific name definitions

Peter Clement and Eduardo de Juana
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated October 10, 2014

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13–13·5 cm; male 10–15·5g, female 9–14·5 g. Medium-sized brightly coloured flycatcher with yellow rump. Male has forehead, crown, lores, cheek, ear-coverts, and nape to mantle black, broad white supercilium from over lores to ear-coverts; back and rump bright yellow, uppertail-coverts and tail all black; upperwing black, with broad white stripe formed by inner greater coverts and lower tertials; throat and underparts bright lemon-yellow (throat and breast become orange-yellow in spring), except for whiter undertail-coverts; iris dark brown; bill black, base of lower mandible lead-blue; legs black to lead-grey or purplish-grey. Differs from similar F. narcissina in white supercilium, yellow (not orange-yellow) back and rump, and all-yellow underparts. Female has crown and upperparts greyish-olive, rump as male or slightly paler, face paler or greyish, lores to eye yellowish, narrow greyish-white eyering, wing and tail sooty brown (may have less white on greater coverts); pale yellow from chin to breast and flanks, faint barring or scaling on breast side, rest of underparts whitish. Juvenile is similar to female, but with buffish streaks and spots on upperparts; first-year male as female, but with blackish uppertail-coverts with pale olive tips, and white tips on greater coverts; first-year female as adult, but rump dull yellow, mottled with olive.

Systematics History

Has previously been considered conspecific with F. narcissina; attempted hybridization between them recorded in Japan and also suspected by a molecular study (1). Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

E Transbaikalia and E Mongolia E to SE Russia (S Amurland, S Ussuriland), S to C & E China (possibly E of NE Sichuan) and Korea; non-breeding Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java.

Habitat

Broadleaf evergreen forest; in E Russia favours streamside and riverine forests with luxuriant vegetation, also mixed forest, secondary forest and plantations; to 1000 m. On migration and in non-breeding areas occurs in lowland and coastal forest, foothills and montane forest, also parks, large gardens (in suburban areas where Albizzia falcataria and Samanea saman present), coastal scrub and mangroves.

Movement

Migratory; entire population moves S to non-breeding quarters in SE Asia and Sumatra. Departure from breeding areas in Aug and early Sept; arrives back in S Ussuriland (SE Russia) mid-May. Common passage migrant through W & S Thailand, scarce or uncommon on passage in N Laos and N & C Vietnam; arrives Malay Peninsula from early Aug, but main arrival there and in Sumatra middle to late Sept and early Oct; rare non-breeding visitor in Borneo, Java and Bali. Present in non-breeding range until return passage from mid-Mar to late Apr, exceptionally to mid-May; arrives on Russian breeding grounds in May. In Thailand autumn passage mainly from mid-Aug to early Oct, and spring passage from late Mar to early May (2). Scarce and widespread on passage through S China, with main autumn passage through Hong Kong in late Aug and Sept, and small numbers S China on return passage in Apr. Rare but annual migrant on islands in Sea of Japan and in W Japan, from late Apr to June and on a few occasions between late Aug and Nov. Vagrant in India, Sri Lanka, and Philippines (Luzon).

Diet and Foraging

Food includes small invertebrates; also small fleshy fruits, in particular berries of Macaranga javanica. Usually solitary or in pairs; quiet and unobtrusive, often crepuscular. Forages at all levels of forest trees and undergrowth; frequently pursues insects in flight from regular perch (to which it returns), also snatches insects and small fruit from foliage while hovering; also forages from lookout perches up to 1 m from ground and occasionally on ground. In non-breeding range (possibly also in breeding areas), defends small foraging territories in canopy of regular trees against conspecifics and other insectivorous foliage-searchers (but largely ignores Muscicapa dauurica); aggressive display includes drooping of wings, cocking and spreading of tail, and fluffing-up of back and rump feathers.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song (song period extends into autumn and early winter) a series of low, melodious whistles like those of a thrush (Turdus). Call a thin “prrip-prrip-piip”, “pee-churturr” or “wheet-turrk”, also a dry, rattling “trrrrt”.

Breeding

Season late May to Jul. Nest a cup of moss, dry grasses and plant fibres, placed in hole in tree or on branch or in trunk; nestboxes also used. Clutch 4–8 eggs; incubation by female, period 12–14 days; chicks fed by both parents, nestling period 13–15 days.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Generally common in Russian Far East, although numbers vary annually; fairly common in China, and abundant summer visitor Korea. In Ussuriland, density up to 100 pairs/km² of forest. Common in non-breeding season in Malay Peninsula.
Distribution of the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Yellow-rumped Flycatcher

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Clement, P. and E. de Juana (2020). Yellow-rumped Flycatcher (Ficedula zanthopygia), 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.korfly1.01
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