Cerulean flycatcher
Cerulean flycatcher by Richard Bowdler Sharpe, 1888
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Rhipiduridae
Subfamily: Lamproliinae
Genus: Eutrichomyias
Meise, 1939
Species:
E. rowleyi
Binomial name
Eutrichomyias rowleyi
(Meyer, 1878)
Synonyms
  • Zeocephus rowleyi

The cerulean flycatcher (Eutrichomyias rowleyi) is a medium-sized (up to 18 cm long), blue passerine with bright cerulean blue plumage, a bare white orbital ring, dark brown iris, bluish black bill and pale blue-grey below. The young has a shorter tail and grey underparts. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Eutrichomyias. Although it resembles a monarch flycatcher, it is actually related to the fantails.

Taxonomy and systematics

The scientific name commemorates the British explorer and ornithologist George Dawson Rowley. The cerulean flycatcher was originally described in the genus Zeocephus, and until recently was known as the cerulean paradise-flycatcher. Alternate names include Rowley's flycatcher and Rowley's paradise-flycatcher. Although initially classified in Monarchidae, a 2017 study involving sequencing of DNA from the type specimen found that it was a member of the fantail family Rhipiduridae, being classified in the basal subfamily Lamproliinae (sometimes considered a distinct family) along with Chaetorhynchus and Lamprolia.[2] This finding was accepted by the IOC, who renamed the species from "cerulean paradise-flycatcher" to just "cerulean flycatcher".[3]

Distribution and habitat

The cerulean flycatcher is endemic to the island of Sangihe, off North Sulawesi in Indonesia. Previously known only from a single specimen collected in 1873, this rare bird was rediscovered in October 1998 around forested valleys of Mount Sahendaruman in southern Sangihe.

Behaviour and ecology

Food and feeding

Its diet consists mainly of insects and other small invertebrates.

Threats

Due to ongoing habitat loss, a small population size, and limited range, the cerulean flycatcher is evaluated as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Eutrichomyias rowleyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22707085A134416536. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22707085A134416536.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Jønsson, Knud Andreas; Blom, Mozes P.K.; Päckert, Martin; Ericson, Per G.P.; Irestedt, Martin (March 2018). "Relicts of the lost arc: High-throughput sequencing of the Eutrichomyias rowleyi (Aves: Passeriformes) holotype uncovers an ancient biogeographic link between the Philippines and Fiji". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 120: 28–32. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.11.021. PMID 29199105.
  3. ↑ "Taxonomic Updates – IOC World Bird List". Retrieved 2021-07-14.
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