Spotted flycatcher

The spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) is a summer visitor to Europe and the British Isles, with most of them wintering in Africa south of the Equator, including South Africa. They arrive late, towards the end of May, and leave as early as July. Opportunities to see this bird in northern Europe are therefore limited.

Appearance

At about 14-15 centimetres (5.5-6 inches) in length, the spotted flycatcher is similar to the house sparrow in size. It is greyish-brown in colour, with darker upperparts and lighter underparts. It has streaks on the breast and the crown of the head, those on the latter being very narrow. The name “spotted” is somewhat misplaced, as it is only juvenile birds to which this applies.

The spotted flycatcher has a fairly long dark bill, longish wings and tail, and short black legs.

Male and female birds are similar in appearance.

Habitat

The spotted flycatcher is a woodland bird, favouring woods and forests with glades and openings. It will also breed in parks, gardens, churchyards and cemeteries, especially where there is a mixture of older and younger trees and bushes.

Behaviour and feeding

The spotted flycatcher is notable for its upright stance when perching, which is often at the top of a tree or a cottage roof, from which it will dart for prey before returning to the same place. It sometimes rises and hovers before seizing something and at other times may glide during long sweeping dives.

Food consists mainly of winged insects such as large flies, moths and butterflies, but spotted flycatchers also eat small caterpillars, spiders and aphids, especially when there are few flying insects about. Female spotted flycatchers, prior to egg-laying, will hunt for small snails and woodlice because these are rich in calcium which helps to produce stronger shells.

The spotted flycatcher’s call has been likened to the noise made by a squeaking wheelbarrow, namely a repeated “zee zee”. The song is a series of high-pitched notes and low scratchy warbles.

Breeding

Spotted flycatchers will build a nest in any convenient place, be it natural or man-made, as long as it is sheltered. This might be in the creepers on a tree trunk, in the rafters of a shed, or even within the abandoned nest of another bird species. They are regular users of open-fronted nest boxes.

Both partners build the nest, which is a loose cup-shaped structure comprising twigs, plant stems and roots lined with fine hairs and feathers.

The clutch of four to six eggs is mostly incubated by the hen bird, for up to 14 days. The brood is then fed in the nest by both parents for up to 16 days. It has been estimated that the daily consumption of flies by a brood of spotted flycatchers can be as high as 500, which means that the parent birds are constantly hunting and darting back to the nest with their catch. The young birds are dependent on their parents for up to a further 30 days. Given the short time that spotted flycatchers stay at their breeding ground before migrating south again, the young birds must grow quickly.

Despite the pressure on time, it is sometimes possible for a second brood to be raised if conditions are favourable.

Conservation

The spotted flycatcher is regarded as being a species of “least concern” in global terms, but there have been marked declines in numbers in some areas of its summer range, including the British Isles. The reasons for this are not clear, but one factor could be the reduction in livestock farming in some areas and the consequent falling-off in fly populations as a result. The spotted flycatcher therefore has red status in the United Kingdom as a species in danger.

© John Welford