Elminia albonotata
The White-tailed Crested Flycatcher (*Elminia albonotata*) is a diminutive and strikingly elegant passerine bird belonging to the family Stenostiridae, often referred to as Afrotropical Flycatchers. This species typically measures 11-13 cm (4.3-5.1 inches) in length and weighs a mere 7-12 grams (0.25-0.42 ounces). Its plumage features glossy blue-grey upperparts, a contrasting white belly and undertail coverts, and a distinctive short, erectile crest that gives it a perpetually alert appearan...
Primarily inhabiting Afromontane and submontane evergreen forests, the White-tailed Crested Flycatcher thrives at elevations typically between 900 and 3,000 meters. It can also be found at forest edges, in secondary growth, and occasionally in dense cultivation or bamboo thickets.
The White-tailed Crested Flycatcher primarily feeds on small flying insects, including beetles, flies, moths, and small wasps, which it captures mainly by aerial hawking. It also gleans invertebrates from leaves and bark.
This highly active, diurnal flycatcher is a tireless insect hunter, spending its days predominantly in the forest canopy and mid-story. Its foraging strategy is characterized by aerial hawking, where it sallies out from a perch to snatch flying insects, often performing acrobatic twists and turns...
The White-tailed Crested Flycatcher has a fragmented yet widespread distribution across central and eastern Africa, primarily within Afromontane forest blocks. Its range extends from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda, eastward through western and central Kenya, and...
Least Concern
- The White-tailed Crested Flycatcher's family, Stenostiridae, is a group of small, agile insectivorous birds endemic to Africa and parts of Asia, often called "Afrotropical Flycatchers. - Despite its common name, it is not a "true" flycatcher (Muscicapidae) but an example of convergent evolution...