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European Pied Flycatcher
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
New in my gallery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a 12-13.5 cm long bird. The breeding male is mainly black above and white below, with a large white wing patch, white tail sides and a small forehead patch. The Iberian subspecies iberiae (known as Iberian Pied Flycatcher) has a larger forehead patch and a pale rump. Non-breeding males, females and juveniles have the black replaced by a pale brown, and may be very difficult to distinguish from other Ficedula flycatchers, particularly the Collared Flycatcher, with which this species hybridizes to a limited extent (Parkin 2003).
The bill is black, and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. As well as taking insects in flight, this species hunts caterpillars amongst the oak foliage, and will take berries. It is therefore a much earlier spring migrant than the more aerial Spotted Flycatcher, and its loud rhythmic and melodious song is characteristic of oak woods in spring.
They are birds of deciduous woodlands, parks and gardens, with a preference for oak trees. They build an open nest in a tree hole, and will readily adapt to an open-fronted nest box. 4-10 eggs are laid.
The very similar Atlas Flycatcher (Ficedula speculigera), of the mountains of north west Africa was formerly classed as subspecies of the Pied Flycatcher. |
marius-secan, Marco2010 has marked this note useful
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Salut Razvan,
Superba specie. Extrem de clara imaginea si cu detalii frumoase.
Marius.
Ciao Razvan.
Molto bella questa foto di balia nera fotografata nel suo ambiente,con un’ottima gestione della luce de un’eccellente nitidezza belli i colori naturali come la stupenda composizione bravo.
Ciao Marco.
- tuslaw
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2754 W: 282 N: 4931]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(19883) - [2012-06-11 18:16]
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Hello Razvan,
Congratulations on this new bird for your gallery, it's a beauty. I have never seen this particular flycatcher before, but I love the pretty contrasting black and white colors in it's plumage.
Shooting against a light sky like this is always a challenge for me, as I tend to get hot spots, but you seemed to have managed quite well. Very attractive bird!!
Ron
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- joska
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 806 W: 0 N: 4092]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(22535) - [2012-06-11 21:56]
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Buna Razvan,
Felicitari pentru aceasta prezentare, foarte rar vad un mascul din aceasta specie in pasajul de primavara a speciei, numai bine si lumini frumoase!
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 967 W: 26 N: 3888]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}