The little slaty flycatcher (''Ficedula basilanica'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Muscicapidae The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

. It is found on the islands of

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

and

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

s. It is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

Description and taxonomy

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as "A small bird of tangled undergrowth in lowland and foothill forest. White below with pale orange legs. Male has dark gray upperparts and a short white stripe behind each eye. Upperparts are dark brown in female with no head stripes. Female similar to Chestnut-tailed Jungle Flycatcher, but has orange legs and a dark brown rather than chestnut tail. Song consists of short, varied whistled notes, often in a rising or falling series. Also gives single thin high downslurred whistles." They are sexually dimorphic in which males have the eponymous slaty-grey color with the females being light brown. Usually secretive and solitary remaining hidden in low and dense foliage. It is known to feed on insects but otherwise diet is largely unknown.

Subspecies

Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: * ''F.b.basilanica'' - Found on

, Dinagat and

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...

. No recent records on Basilan and Dinagat Islands. Smaller ear patch, lighter head and a darker tail. * ''F.b.samarensis'' - Found on

and

. No recent records on Leyte. Has a much more prominent white ear patch, a darker head and a paler tail.

Ecology and behavior

Its diet mostly unknown but it includes small invertebrates. It is usually solitary and typically found in dense undergrowth. This bird's breeding habits are poorly known. Birds in breeding condition with enlarged gonads have been collected in May and June. One nest has been found made of roots and leaves containing 2 eggs. No other information is known.

Habitat and conservation status

Its natural

s at tropical moist lowland

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

and well developed

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has regenerated through largely natural processes after human-caused Disturbance (ecology), disturbances, such as Logging, timber harvest or agriculture clearing, or ...

up to 1,200 meters above sea level. It is often seen close to the

forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus or wikt:duff#Noun 2, duff, is the part of a forest ecosystem that mediates between the living, aboveground portion of the forest and the mineral soil, principally composed of dead and decaying plant matter ...

staying in the low

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

. IUCN has assessed this bird as vulnerable with the population being estimated at 2,500 to 9,999 mature individuals. Extensive lowland deforestation on all islands in its range is the main threat. Most remaining lowland forest that is not afforded protection leaving it vulnerable to both legal and

Illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

, conversion into farmlands through

Slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

and mining. It occurs in the protected areas of

Pasonanca Natural Park The Pasonanca Natural Park is a List of protected areas of the Philippines, protected area that preserves a major watershed in the southern Philippines, Philippine island of Mindanao in the Zamboanga Peninsula. It contains the headwaters of the ...

, Mount Apo National Park and Mt. Hilong-hilong National Park but enforcement and protection from loggers are lax.

References

External links

Image at ADW
little slaty flycatcher Birds of Mindanao Fauna of Samar Endemic birds of the Philippines little slaty flycatcher Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Muscicapidae-stub