BAR-WINGED FLYCATCHER-SHRIKE

Description:

The bar-winged flycatcher-shrike is a small passerine bird formerly placed in the cuckooshrike family but probably closer to the woodshrikes. It is found in the forests of tropical southern Asia from the Himalayas and hills of the Indian subcontinent east to Indonesia. Mainly insectivorous it is found hunting in the mid-canopy of forests and dense areas where there is foliage, often joining mixed-species foraging flocks. They perch upright and have a distinctive pattern of black and white, males being more glossy black than the females. In some populations the colour of the back is brownish while others have a dark wash on the underside.

Habitat:

This bird catches insects by gleaning foliage and making aerial sallies for flushed insects.[15] It will associate with other small birds such as babblers, velvet-fronted nuthatch and white-eyes in feeding flocks.[16] They move through the forest and rarely stick to a particular location.The nesting season in Sri Lanka is mainly from February to August. The nest is a neat cup with rim held stiff by cobwebs binding it and the inside is lined with fine grass and fibre.