Myiagra ferrocyanea
The Steel-blue Flycatcher (Myiagra ferrocyanea) is a strikingly elegant passerine, measuring approximately 14-15 cm in length with a slender build. Males exhibit a spectacular iridescent steel-blue plumage across their upperparts, head, and throat, contrasting sharply with clean white underparts; their deep blue gloss shimmers in the tropical sun. Females, while also possessing blue upperparts, often display a duller, sometimes brownish or rufous wash on their flanks and breast, depending on ...
This species thrives in lowland and hill forests, forest edges, and secondary growth, often found in mangroves and gardens. It typically occurs from sea level up to an elevation of about 1,200 meters.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of small flying insects, including beetles, flies, moths, and hymenopterans, captured primarily through aerial hawking.
Steel-blue Flycatchers are active diurnal birds, spending their days foraging in the mid-canopy to upper canopy layers of their forest homes. They are classic 'sally-strikers,' launching from a favored perch to snatch flying insects mid-air with agile maneuvers, then returning to the same or a ne...
The Steel-blue Flycatcher has a widespread distribution across the Solomon Islands, the Bismarck Archipelago, and along the eastern coast of mainland New Guinea. Its breeding range encompasses numerous islands, including Bougainville, New Britain, New Ireland, and various smaller islands within t...
Least Concern
- The Steel-blue Flycatcher is one of approximately 14 species within the genus Myiagra, all known for their vibrant, often iridescent plumages and flycatching behavior. - Despite their common name, they are not true 'flycatchers' in the sense of the Old World or New World flycatchers, belonging ...