Pied flycatcher

Pied flycatcher male

Pied flycatcher ©Richard Steel/2020VISION

Pied flycatcher

©Mark Hamblin/2020VISION

Pied flycatcher

Enw gwyddonol: Ficedula hypoleuca
The pied flycatcher is a summer visitor, migrating here from West Africa to breed. Look for this small, black-and-white bird in woodland, parks and gardens, mostly in the west of the UK.

Species information

Ystadegau

Length: 12cm
Wingspan: 19cm
Weight: 12g
Average lifespan: 2 years

Statws cadwraethol

Classified in the UK as Amber under the Birds of Conservation Concern 5: the Red List for Birds (2021). Protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

Pryd i'w gweld

April to September

Ynghylch

The pied flycatcher is a small, black-and-white bird of mature woodland, parks and gardens, with a preference for oak trees. It is a summer visitor from April and May onwards, and breeds mainly in western areas; it spends the winter in West Africa. Pied flycatchers may be seen sitting patiently on a perch, waiting for a chance to fly out and catch their insect-prey mid-air. They also search for insects on tree trunks and on the ground.

Sut i'w hadnabod

The pied flycatcher is slightly smaller than a house sparrow. Males are mostly black above and white below, with a bold white patch on the folded wing. Females have the same basic patterning, but are browner in colour.

Dosbarthiad

Found mainly across the west of the UK.

Roeddech chi yn gwybod?

Pied flycatchers time their spring migration to arrive just in time to feed their young on emerging caterpillars.

Gwyliwch

Pied Flycatcher by Tom Hibbert