Cyornis hainanus
The Hainan Blue Flycatcher (*Cyornis hainanus*) is a dazzling gem of Southeast Asian forests, renowned for the male's striking iridescent blue plumage. Measuring approximately 14 cm in length and weighing 12-18 grams, the male boasts brilliant cobalt-blue upperparts, contrasting sharply with a black facial mask extending to the lores and ear-coverts, and a pristine white belly. Females, true to the species' strong sexual dimorphism, are considerably duller, exhibiting brownish-grey upperparts...
This flycatcher primarily inhabits subtropical and tropical moist lowland forests, evergreen broadleaf forests, and dense bamboo thickets, often favoring areas near streams or ravines. It occurs from sea level up to around 1500 meters in elevation, occasionally higher.
Its diet consists primarily of insects, including flies, beetles, ants, grasshoppers, and caterpillars, supplemented by small spiders and other invertebrates. It forages by sallying from perches and gleaning from foliage.
Typically a solitary or paired bird, the Hainan Blue Flycatcher is diurnal but often inconspicuous, moving stealthily within the dense understory. Its foraging strategy is classic flycatcher: it perches low and motionless on a horizontal branch, scanning for insect prey, then launching into a qui...
The Hainan Blue Flycatcher boasts a widespread distribution across mainland Southeast Asia and parts of southern China. Its breeding range extends from southern Yunnan, Guangxi, and Hainan Island in China, south through Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, reaching down into Peninsular...
Least Concern
- The Hainan Blue Flycatcher is named after Hainan Island, off the coast of southern China, which is its type locality where it was first scientifically described. - Despite the male's brilliant blue plumage, it can be remarkably difficult to spot due to its preference for dense undergrowth and s...