Grey-headed canary-flycatcher facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grey-headed canary-flycatcher
Adult at Mae Wong National Park, Thailand
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Stenostiridae
Genus:	Culicicapa
Species:	C. ceylonensis
Binomial name
Culicicapa ceylonensis (Swainson, 1820)
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Synonyms
Platyrhynchus ceylonensis (protonym)

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The grey-headed canary-flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis) is a small, colorful bird found in tropical parts of Asia. It looks a bit like a flycatcher, which is a type of bird that catches insects in the air. This bird has a special square-shaped crest on its head, a grey "hood" (like a cap), and bright yellow feathers on its belly.

These birds mostly live in forests. They often join groups of different bird species to look for food together. You might see a pair of them flying out from a branch to catch insects, making calls as they go. Scientists used to think this bird was an Old World flycatcher. But newer studies show it belongs to a different family called Stenostiridae, or "fairy flycatchers."

What Does It Look Like?

A grey-headed canary-flycatcher from India

The grey-headed canary-flycatcher is about 12 to 13 centimeters (around 5 inches) long. It has a grey head that looks a bit square. Its belly is bright yellow, like a canary, and its back is yellowish-green.

These birds are very active. They perch upright and fly out to catch insects, just like other flycatchers. Male and female birds look exactly the same. They have a very flat beak. If you look at it from above, it looks like a triangle. They also have long, stiff feathers around their beak called rictal bristles.

Birds from different areas might have slightly different shades of color. For example, birds in India and Sri Lanka are a bit darker. Birds in the Himalayas and Myanmar are a different shade. There are also different types found in places like Malaysia, Java, and other islands.

Scientists once thought this bird was an Old World flycatcher. This was because of its crest, colors, and calls. But studies looking at their DNA show they are quite different. They are now in the family Stenostiridae. This family is related to birds like tits.

Where Does It Live?

This bird lives in forests, especially in hilly or mountainous areas. You can find it across southern Asia. This includes countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and east to Indonesia and southern China.

Many grey-headed canary-flycatchers stay in the same place all year. But some birds from the Himalayas move to warmer places for winter. They might fly down to lower areas in India. Other groups might just move to different heights on the mountains. In places like Bhutan, you can find them all year round, even high up in the mountains.

During the cooler months (September to March in India), they can be seen in lower areas. They like forests, old plantations, and overgrown gardens. They often stay near water or streams. These birds are very busy and noisy all day long. They look for food at all levels of the forest.

What Does It Do?

The grey-headed canary-flycatcher eats insects. It catches them by flying out from a low branch under a tree. This is called "sallying." A pair of these birds might hunt for food together. They often join mixed-species foraging flocks. This means they team up with other types of birds to find food.

Reproduction

These birds usually lay eggs in the summer. In India, this is from April to June. The female bird builds the nest by herself. It's a cup-shaped nest made of cobwebs and covered with moss. The nest is often stuck to a mossy tree trunk. Sometimes, they build nests on rocks or ledges in mud banks.

A female bird usually lays three or four eggs. Sometimes, another bird called Hodgson's hawk-cuckoo will lay its eggs in the grey-headed canary-flycatcher's nest. This means the grey-headed canary-flycatcher ends up raising the cuckoo's chicks.