Fiscal flycatcher

The fiscal flycatcher (Sigelus silens) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It is the only species placed in the genus Sigelus. It is a resident breeder in Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique and Swaziland, and a vagrant to Namibia.

Fiscal flycatcher
Male and female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Muscicapidae
Genus: Sigelus
Cabanis, 1850
Species:
S. silens
Binomial name
Sigelus silens
(Shaw, 1809)
Synonyms

Melaenornis silens

This species is found in subtropical open woodland, dry savanna, shrubland and suburban gardens.

Taxonomy

The fiscal flycatcher was previously the only member of the genus Sigelus but was moved to Melaenornis based on the results of a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010.[2][3]

Description

This black and white bird gets its name from its resemblance to the northern and southern fiscal shrikes (previously considered one species, common fiscal), shrikes that in turn get the name from their black and white suit-and-tie appearance reminiscent of the taxman (‘fiscal’).[4] The male may be confused with the fiscal shrikes, but the shrikes have heavy, hooked bills, white patches on the shoulder rather than the lower wing, and no white on their longer tails. The resemblance is assumed to be an example of Batesian mimicry.[5]

The fiscal flycatcher is 17–20 cm in length. The adult male is black above and white below with white wing patches and white sides to the tail. The female is brown above, somewhat like an immature fiscal shrike, not black. The juvenile is like the female but duller and with brown spots and scalloping above and below.

The song is a weak chittering, and the alarm call is tssisk.

The fiscal flycatcher is larger than the male collared flycatcher, which has a white collar and lacks white wing panels.

Behaviour

The fiscal flycatcher builds an open-cup nest from thin stems and other plant material, and lined with plant down. It is placed in a dense bush or thicket in a tree. In these respects it resembles the fiscal shrike.[6]

The fiscal flycatcher feeds on insects, often taken in flight, but also on non-flying prey such as caterpillars. It may prey on the spiny caterpillars or "woolly worms" of tiger moths, after first scrubbing them on the ground or on bark, thereby denuding them of the worst of their spines. It also feeds on various species of small wild berries, such as Halleria and Chrysanthemoides, and from nectar-rich flowers such as some Aloe. In suburban gardens it commonly feeds opportunistically on domestic scraps.[6]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Melaenornis silens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22709113A94192892. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22709113A94192892.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Sangster, G.; Alström, P.; Forsmark, E.; Olsson, U. (2010). "Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 57 (1): 380–392. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008. PMID 20656044.
  3. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David (eds.). "Chats, Old World flycatchers". World Bird List Version 6.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 May 2016.
  4. "Fiscal Flycatcher". South African National Biodiversity Institute. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  5. "Fiscal Flycatcher".
  6. Maclean, Gordon Lindsay. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa Publisher: New Holland 1993. ISBN 978-0620175838

Further reading
  • Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton, SASOL Birds of Southern Africa (Struik 2002) ISBN 1-86872-721-1
  • del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 84-96553-06-X.
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