OzAnimals.com
Australian Wildlife

  Restless Flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta)





Restless Flycatcher | Myiagra inquieta photo
Restless Flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) Dayboro, SE Queensland, Australia

Image by www.aviceda.org - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Restless Flycatcher | Myiagra inquieta photo
Restless Flycatcher

Image by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos - GNU Free Documentation License.    (view image details)

Restless Flycatcher | Myiagra inquieta photo
Restless Flycatcher in flight

Image by Fir0002/Flagstaffotos - GNU Free Documentation License.    (view image details)







RESTLESS FLYCATCHER FACTS

Description
A medium-sized bird with a glossy blue-black head, a small crest, white below from the chin to the undertail, with a blue-black bill surrounded by bristles. The back, wings and tail are darker grey and there may be a slight orange brown tint on the breast. Young birds are duller grey-black above, with the throat and breast washed orange-brown. Body size up to 21 cm.

An extremely mobile and active bird, able to hover while feeding, uttering a rasping or grinding call that gives it its common name: Scissors Grinder. It feeds on insects, as well as other invertebrates such as spiders and centipedes, and usually feeds alone or in pairs. When hovering, it hangs almost vertically in the air with its head and spread tail pointing downwards. It rarely comes to the ground to feed, preferring to 'hawk' for insects from perches in the mid-level of the canopy. It builds a small cup-shaped nest of bark and grass, bound with spider web, camouflaged with pieces of lichen and bark, and placed in an exposed position on a tree branch, often near or over water. Both sexes help to build the nest, incubate the eggs and feed the young.

Author credit: Louise Carter / Australian Museum

Habitat
Open forests and woodlands and is frequently seen in farmland.

Food
Insectivore

Range
Eastern Australia

distribution map showing range of Myiagra inquieta in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Monarchidae
Genus:Myiagra
Species:inquieta
Common Name:Restless Flycatcher

Relatives in same Genus
  Shining Flycatcher (M. alecto)
  Satin Flycatcher (M. cyanoleuca)
  Leaden Flycatcher (M. rubecula)
  Broad-billed Flycatcher (M. ruficollis)