Spotted Flycatcher

Photos copyright: VM/monacoeye • Treviso, Italy • Do not copy without permission

Bird name: Spotted Flycatcher
Latin: Muscicapa striata
Other: Gobe-Mouche Gris (Fr) • Pigliamosche (It)
Family: Muscicapidae • Flycatchers

A nice picture of a Spotted Flycatcher above sent in by Valerie from her garden in Italy. Note the faintly streaked chest and head and slightly lighter supercilium. Otherwise not much in the way of prominent features.

While most birds cannot distinguish between their own eggs and others, the Spotted Flycatcher can discriminate well. This suggests it was once parasitised by the Cuckoo but successfully adapted its defence though egg recognition.

I saw half a dozen Spotted Flycatchers in the Danube Delta region, particularly near the coastal area - numbers have reportedly fallen off in the UK.






Photos copyright: monacoeye • Danube Delta, Romania • May 2009 • Do not copy without permission