Home Application Download FAQ
English
English
繁體中文
日本語
Español
Français
Deutsch
Pусский
Português
Italiano
한국어
Nederlands
العربية

Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike

A species of Flycatcher-shrikes
Scientific name : Hemipus picatus Genus : Flycatcher-shrikes

Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike, A species of Flycatcher-shrikes
Botanical name: Hemipus picatus
Genus: Flycatcher-shrikes
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus picatus) Photo By Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok

Description

The bar-winged flycatcher-shrike is black capped with black wings that contrast with the white of the body. A white slash across the wing and a white rump stand out in contrast. They sit upright on branches, flying around to glean insects. The nostril is hidden by hairs and the upper mandible of the beak has a curved tip. Males are velvety black while females tend to be greyish brown but the pattern varies across the geographic populations. Both males and females of the Himalayan H. p. capitalis have a brown back but the males have a black head. The Sri Lankan population leggei lacks sexual dimorphism in plumage. H. p. intermedius has only the females with a brownish back. The tail is black but the outer tail feathers are white while the non-central tail feathers are tipped with white. The call is a rapid and high tsit-it-it-it or a whriri-whirriri-whirriri and sometimes a sharp chip. Male-female pairs of the subspecies leggei of Sri Lanka have been reported to duet with precision. Young birds are said to have a broken pattern of white and grey giving the appearance of lichens. The exact systematic family position is unclear but the genus Hemipus has been found to be closely related to the genus Tephrodornis and show affinities to the Malaconotidae of Africa.
Size
15 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike primarily consumes insects like butterflies, beetles, ants, and termites. It forages alongside mixed-species flocks in the canopy, often sallying from accustomed perches or gleaning from foliage, and occasionally feeds on the ground.
Habitat
The bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike thrives in diverse arboreal environments, often found in the high canopy and peripheries of lowland forests, which may include areas of human disturbance. It also adapts to secondary forests, bamboo thickets, scrubland, and various types of plantations, as well as wooded garden spaces. While it is typically associated with forested habitats, it can reside in locations quite distant from primary forests.
Dite type
Insectivorous

General Info

Feeding Habits

Bird food type

Behavior

This bird catches insects by gleaning foliage and making aerial sallies for flushed insects. It will associate with other small birds such as babblers, velvet-fronted nuthatch and white-eyes in feeding flocks. They move through the forest and rarely stick to a particular location. The nesting season in Sri Lanka is mainly from February to August, March to May in India. The nest is a neat cup with rim held stiff by cobwebs binding it and the inside is lined with fine grass and fibre. Lichens cover the surface of the nest cup which is placed on the horizontal surface of a dry branch, often close to the tip of a dead branch or on a leafless tree making it appear like a knot in the wood. The usual clutch is 2 or 3 eggs which are pale greenish white and blotched with black and grey. The bird sitting at the nest appears as if it is casually perched. Both males and females incubate. The chicks at nest stay still with eyes closed and face the center of the nest while holding their bills high giving the appearance of a broken branch. They have been said to be sensitive to forest degradation but some studies note that they are less sensitive and capable of persisting even in considerably disturbed forests.

Distribution Area

The nominate race is found mainly in the Western Ghats of India but becoming very rare towards the Surat Dangs. They are also found in some parts of central and eastern India, extending into Bangladesh. The subspecies capitalis is found along the Himalayas from Simla, east to Manipur and Chittagong in India and extending into northern Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. Subspecies leggei of Sri Lanka (southern Western Ghats populations included in older works) has the sexes indistinguishable. It is found in the hill forests of Sri Lanka. Subspecies intermedius is found in Southeast Asia in Sumatra, Borneo, and parts of the Malay Peninsula. The brownish grey wash on the breast of females is darker, contrasting with the white of the abdomens. The back is darker brown than in other subspecies. The males also have darker breasts. Other subspecies that have been described such as Walter Koelz's pileatus (described from the Lushai Hills) and insulae (from Sri Lanka) are not considered valid.
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus picatus) Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus picatus) Photo By Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok
Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Cookie Management Tool
In addition to managing cookies through your browser or device, you can change your cookie settings below.
Necessary Cookies
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.
Analytical Cookies
Analytical cookies help us to improve our application/website by collecting and reporting information on its usage.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_ga Google Analytics These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here. 1 Year
_pta PictureThis Analytics We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_ga
Source
Google Analytics
Purpose
These cookies are set because of our use of Google Analytics. They are used to collect information about your use of our application/website. The cookies collect specific information, such as your IP address, data related to your device and other information about your use of the application/website. Please note that the data processing is essentially carried out by Google LLC and Google may use your data collected by the cookies for own purposes, e.g. profiling and will combine it with other data such as your Google Account. For more information about how Google processes your data and Google’s approach to privacy as well as implemented safeguards for your data, please see here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_pta
Source
PictureThis Analytics
Purpose
We use these cookies to collect information about how you use our site, monitor site performance, and improve our site performance, our services, and your experience.
Lifespan
1 Year
Marketing Cookies
Marketing cookies are used by advertising companies to serve ads that are relevant to your interests.
Cookie Name Source Purpose Lifespan
_fbp Facebook Pixel A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here. 1 Year
_adj Adjust This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here. 1 Year
Cookie Name
_fbp
Source
Facebook Pixel
Purpose
A conversion pixel tracking that we use for retargeting campaigns. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year

Cookie Name
_adj
Source
Adjust
Purpose
This cookie provides mobile analytics and attribution services that enable us to measure and analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, certain events and actions within the Application. Learn more here.
Lifespan
1 Year
Download