Bulletin 372 - Uganda #16 - Old World Flycatchers - Part 1

After the week in the Capetown area, the guide Casper Badenhorst, and I flew to Uganda and met a local guide. We started at Entebbe Airport on the southeast corner of Uganda and made a diagonal trip to Murchison Falls NP in the northwest corner. From there, we proceeded south through a chain of nature preserves and parks to the southwest corner at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We finished along the southern border back to the airport.

This is a very large family (331 species) of small songbirds only 2 of which show up regularly in Alaska. Many of them are beautiful! Because of the number, of species, many will be found on any trip in Eurasia or Africa. They have many names flycatchers, chats, robins, wheatears, and many others.

The 7" Northern Black Flycatcher (Melaenornis edoliodes) is completely black.

Northern Black Flycatcher

The 7" male Sooty Chat (Myrmecocichla nigra) is black with a prominent white wing bar.

Sooty Chat - male

The 5" male African Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) has a black head, wings and back and white underparts except for a rusty breast.

African Stonechat - male

His cousin is the 5" male Whinchat (Saxicola rubetra). He is mostly buffy and brown, but with a black and white face. It is a winter migrant to Africa.

Whinchat - male

The 5" Cassin's Flycatcher (Muscicapa cassini) is gray above and lighter below with black wings. He is found along forest streams from 2200 to 5200' elevation. He perches on low branches or on rocks in the stream like this one. It is listed as uncommon.

Cassin's Flycatcher

His cousin is the 5" Swamp Flycatcher (Muscicapa aquatica). He is brown above and white below with a brown breast band.

Swamp Flycatcher

A species name I had not seen before was alethe. These are secretive thrush like forest birds. They are usually solitary and and follow ant swarms to feed. In fact they were in the thrush family until 2010.

The 7" Fire-crested Alethe (Alethe castanea) is brown above, with a gray face and underparts. There is a central orange median strip on the top of his head. They say it is not usually seen in the field. This is another bird named for an invisible field mark.

Fire-crested Alethe

The 6" Red-throated Alethe (Chamaetylas poliophrys) was a lucky find as we had ants moving across a mountain road and he popped in and out of the underbrush, as we waited for him. He has a brown back and wings with gray head and underparts. The red throat is distinct on this species.

Red-throated Alethe

A beautiful bird was the monotypic genus 7" Silverbird (Empidornis semipartitus). It is silvery gray above and rufous below. An easy ID if you know the bird.

Silverbird

I put the different bird and mammal families in single folders for easy viewing

I have photos of 52 of the 331 species of Old World Flycatchers


Happy birding and photography,

David McDonald

dkmmdpa@gmail.com

photos copyright 2006 - 2020 David McDonald

To have these trip reports sent to your email, please email me at the above address and ask to subscribe.