Verditer Flycatcher Category: Flycatchers, Chats Scientific name: Eumyias thalassinus Higher classification: Eumyias

The verditer flycatcher (Eumyias thalassinus) is an Old World flycatcher found in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the Lower Himalaya. It is named after its distinctive shade of copper-sulphate blue and has a dark patch between the eyes and above the bill base. The adult males are intense blue on all areas of the body, except for the black eye-patch and grey vent. Adult females and sub-adults are lighter blue. They are also interesting among the flycatchers in that they forage above the canopy level and perching on electric wires or exposed tree top branches.

Male: verditer-blue plumage, darker in wings and tail; black lores. Female: duller, more grey overall. The Nilgiri Flycatcher E. albicaudatus of W Ghats is darker blue with white in tail; the Pale Blue Flycatcher Cyornis unicolor (16cm) male is uniform blue, with white on belly; female is olive-brown. Solitary or in pairs in winter, sometimes with other birds; restless, flicking tail; swoops about, ever on the move, occasionally descending quite low; rather more noticeable than other flycatchers because of its continuous movement and habit of perching in open exposed positions, like a bare twig on a tree top. This species was earlier placed in the genus Muscicapa and it has been suggested that it is closer to the Niltava flycatchers.

Call Description: Silent in winter, save for a rare, faint chwe… call; rich, trilling notes and song during Himalayan summer.

Habitat: open forests, orchards. Food: