Phylum: Chordata - Class: Aves - Order: Passeriformes - Family: Muscicapidae
Identification - Distribution - Lifecycle - Food - Predators - Reference SourcesA characteristic upright pose helps with identification of this lovely little bird, which is generally a solitary rather than communal visitor to gardens in Britain, where it is most frequently to be seen in Wales, the Westcountry, northern England and southern Scotland. Winged insects are their main food source.
Male and female are very similar.
Spotted Flycatchers are short-stay summer visitors to Britain and Ireland (and to most of Europe and parts of Asia), arriving in May to breed but then heading back down south in August; they spend the rest of the year in tropical Africa.
As the name suggests, Spotted Flycatchers are insectivorous birds.
The Spotted Flycatchers shown on this page were photographed in Slovenia.
Nesting often in holes in buildings or behind creepers growing on weathered walls, spotted flycatchers will also make use of nest boxes in gardens and parks.
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