Restless flycatcher
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| Restless flycatcher in flight | |
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M. inquieta
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| Myiagra inquieta (Latham, 1802)
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The restless flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) is a passerine bird in the family Monarchidae; it is also known as the razor grinder or scissors grinder because of its distinctive call. It is a native of eastern and southern Australia. Populations in New Guinea and northern Australia, which were at one time considered to be a subspecies, are now accepted as a separate species, Myiagra nana, the paperbark flycatcher. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long, with a glossy dark blue crown, a grey back and white underparts, and is similar in appearance to the willie wagtail. Its cup-shaped nest, built in the fork of a tree branch, consists of grasses and shredded bark, bound together with spider webbing and often decorated with lichen, bark fragments and the egg-sacs of spiders.
Taxonomy
Also known colloquially as razor grinder,[2] scissors grinder or dishwasher on account of its unusual call,[3] the restless flycatcher was first described by ornithologist John Latham in 1802. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin inquietus 'restless'.[4] Populations from northern Australia and New Guinea, formerly considered a distinctive subspecies, are now separated as the paperbark flycatcher (Myiagra nana), with which it forms a superspecies.[5][6]
It is found in southern and eastern Australia. It is about 20 cm (8 in) long, with a glossy dark blue crown, a grey back and white underparts. It is similar to the willie wagtail, though the lack of a black throat and white eyebrow are distinguishing features. Its main food is insects.
This bird builds a cup-shaped nest from shredded bark and grasses, matted and bound with spider-webbing. Linings used are soft bark, grasses, hair or feathers. It is often decorated with lichen, strips of bark or spiders' egg sacs. The nest site is in the fork of a well-foliaged tree mostly near or overhanging water, though it can be up to twenty or more metres above the ground.[7]
Footnotes
- ↑ IUCN Red List 2012.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Boles 1988, p. 349.
- ↑ Simpson 1979, p. 883.
- ↑ Schodde & Mason 1999, pp. 518–519.
- ↑ Christidis & Boles 2008, p. 200.
- ↑ Beruldsen 2003, p. 369.
- References
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- Cited texts
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File:Restless flycatcher.jpg
Restless flycatcher
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File:Restless flycatcher with huntsman.jpg
Contrary to their name, restless flycatchers do not only eat flies. Here, one is pictured with a huntsman spider.
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.. |
- ABID Images
- Restless Flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) videos and photos at Internet Bird Collection
