Blue-mantled crested flycatcher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Blue-mantled crested flycatcher
Female photographed in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Monarchidae
Genus:	Trochocercus
Species:	T. cyanomelas
Binomial name
Trochocercus cyanomelas (Vieillot, 1818)
Subspecies
See text
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Synonyms
Muscicapa cyanomelas Terpsiphone cyanomelas

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The blue-mantled crested flycatcher is a cool bird with a fancy crest! It's also known as the African crested flycatcher. This bird belongs to a family called Monarchidae, which are often called monarch flycatchers. You can find these birds living in the eastern and south-eastern parts of Africa.

They love to live in warm, wet places. Their favorite homes are dry or moist forests in tropical and subtropical areas. Imagine a dense, green forest – that's where they feel right at home!

What's in a Name? The Blue-mantled Crested Flycatcher's Identity

Have you ever wondered how animals get their names? Scientists give them special names to help keep track of them. The blue-mantled crested flycatcher's scientific name is Trochocercus cyanomelas. It was first described by a scientist named Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1818.

This bird has had a few different names over time. It was once thought to be part of the Muscicapa or Terpsiphone groups of birds. Some people also call it the blue-mantled flycatcher or the crested flycatcher. All these names help us identify this unique bird.

Meet the Family: Different Kinds of Blue-mantled Crested Flycatchers

Just like people in a family can look a little different, birds of the same species can have small variations. These are called subspecies. The blue-mantled crested flycatcher has five recognized subspecies. They are mostly found in different areas of Africa.

• T. c. vivax - This one lives in places like Uganda, north-western Tanzania, and parts of Zambia.
• East African crested flycatcher (T. c. bivittatus) - You can find this subspecies from Somalia all the way to eastern Tanzania.
• T. c. megalolophus - This type lives in Malawi, northern Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and eastern South Africa.
• T. c. segregus - This subspecies is found in specific parts of South Africa, like the eastern Northern Province.
• T. c. cyanomelas - This is the original subspecies, found in southern and south-eastern South Africa.

What Do Blue-mantled Crested Flycatchers Eat?

These birds are very good at catching insects! Like all birds in the monarch flycatcher family, the blue-mantled crested flycatcher is insectivorous. This means their main diet is insects. They fly around, spotting tiny bugs, and then swoop in to catch them. It's like they're always on a bug hunt!

Images for kids

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  T. c. vivax