Species of the Month: Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata (June 2024)

A streaky greyish-brown bird of woodland edge, parks and mature gardens. Spotted Flycatchers Muscicapa striata are migrants, spending the winter months in Africa. They are typically one of the latest summer migrants to return to their breeding grounds, seldom appearing before mid-late May. Whilst their plumage and song are unremarkable, they are a delightful species to watch. Perching high up in a tree, they repeatedly flit out to catch insects, often returning to the same spot. Their upright posture is a good jizz characteristic.

The Spotted Flycatcher is one of 70 species currently on the UK ‘Red List’ of Birds of Conservation Concern. Although it is still a very widespread throughout the UK, numbers have declined rapidly since the 1960s; long-term monitoring shows that between 1967 and 2020 the population declined by 92% in the UK. The causes for such declines are not fully understood, but reduced first-year survival appears to be a contributing factor. Whether this is due to factors on the breeding grounds, on migration or in wintering grounds is not fully understood.

Mark Pollitt

SWSEIC Manager