Flycatchers and chats · Perching birds

Semicollared Flycatcher

Ficedula semitorquata

How to recognize it

12–13.5 cm, small black-and-white flycatcher
Male: black above, white below, broken white half-collar on the nape
White forehead patch, large white wing patch, white outer tail sides
Call "tjuup"; soft, high, strained whistles

About the species

The male is black above and white below, with a broken white collar, a white forehead patch, and a bold wing patch. Females and young ones are much plainer, washed brown above and pale below, but they keep the same flash of white on the wing.

It takes insects in the air, darting out from a perch and then back again. Its song sits between the sounds of the collared and pied flycatchers, with slow, strained whistles, and its call is a sharp "tyuup".

It lives in deciduous and mixed woods, especially in mountain country, and also uses older parks and gardens. It nests in tree holes, old woodpecker nests, and nest boxes. Most of the year it moves between southeastern Europe and northwestern Iran, then winters in Central and Eastern Africa.

Where to find

In mature deciduous parks with old poplars and oaks, Semicollared Flycatcher often watches from the canopy and darts out to snatch flying insects.
Along river floodplain woods and tree-lined banks — especially where tall, hollow trees stand — look for short sallies from a perch back into the same branch.
In gardens and courtyard avenues with nest boxes, its quiet call and habit of hunting from an open twig can give it away.
On migration, it may pause in city parks near damp edges or pond fringes, sitting on a thin branch and making quick insect-catching flights.