Myiagra cyanoleuca
The Satin Flycatcher (Myiagra cyanoleuca) is a striking passerine bird of the monarch flycatcher family, Monarchidae, renowned for its migratory lifestyle across eastern Australia. Males are easily identified by their glossy, iridescent blue-black plumage, which gives them a 'satin' sheen, sharply contrasting with a pristine white belly and vent. Females, in contrast, exhibit a duller blackish-brown head, greyish back, and white underparts with a distinctive rufous wash on the throat and brea...
Satin Flycatchers primarily inhabit tall, wet sclerophyll forests, rainforests, and densely treed gullies, often near watercourses, from sea level up to approximately 1500 meters (5000 feet) in elevation. They prefer areas with a high, closed canopy and a dense understory.
Satin Flycatchers are insectivorous, primarily consuming a wide variety of flying insects, including moths, butterflies, beetles, flies, and Hymenoptera. They mostly forage by sallying from perches to catch prey in mid-air.
These diurnal birds are active foragers, primarily hawking insects from the mid-canopy to the sub-canopy. Their foraging strategy involves short, agile sallying flights from a perch to catch flying insects, often returning to the same or a nearby vantage point. During the breeding season, males a...
The Satin Flycatcher exhibits a distinct and extensive migratory pattern across eastern Australia. Its primary breeding range extends from southeastern Queensland, through eastern New South Wales, and into Victoria, with isolated populations also found in Tasmania. During the Australian autumn (M...
Least Concern
- The male Satin Flycatcher's iridescent blue-black plumage is not due to pigment, but to structural coloration, which manipulates light to create its shimmering effect. - They are one of Australia's most impressive long-distance terrestrial migrants, traveling thousands of kilometers between the...