Passeriformes / Muscicapidae / Muscicapa
Brown-breasted Flycatcher
Muscicapa muttui · 褐胸鹟
Introduction
A small passerine in the flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It breeds in north eastern India, central and Southern China, and northern Burma and Thailand, migrating to southern India and Sri Lanka. It forages for insects below the forest canopy, often close to the forest floor.
Description
Length is 13–14 cm and weight is 10-14 g. Upper parts are olive brown with darker feather shafts. Upper tail coverts and flight feather edges are brighter rufous; tail feathers have rufous on outer webs. Lores are pale with a conspicuous eye ring. Chin and throat are white, breast and sides are pale brown, and the middle of the body to the vent is buffy white. Submoustachial stripes are faint. Legs and lower mandible are pale flesh coloured.
Identification
Most similar to the Asian brown flycatcher, which has black rather than pale legs. Key marks include pale legs, pale lores, conspicuous eye ring, and rufous upper tail coverts.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds in north eastern India, central and Southern China, and northern Burma and Thailand. Migrates to southern India and Sri Lanka. Winter migrants in southern India and Sri Lanka are thought to originate from north-east India and northern Thailand. A subspecies stötzneri described from Szechwan is not usually recognized.
Behavior & Ecology
Forages for insects below the forest canopy, often close to the forest floor. The usual call is a very faint tseet audible only at close range, or a series of notes chi-chi-chi-chi ending with a low chit-chit.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Muscicapa
Distribution
breeds northeastern India to southern China and northern Vietnam; winters to Sri Lanka
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
