Birds · Passeriformes · Muscicapidae

Spotted Flycatcher

Muscicapa striata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The spotted flycatcher is an unobtrusive greyish-brown bird that catches insects in flight from a perch and always returns to the same spot. It is one of the most familiar birds of Spanish villages and gardens in summer, where it nests on ledges, in creepers and in holes in walls. Its European population has been in decline for decades, tied to the general fall in insect numbers.

Weight

13 g – 20 g

Size

13 cm – 15 cm

Lifespan

9 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

SavannaTemperate forestGrasslandInsectivore Diurnal In pairs Bird Savanna Temperate forest Grassland

50countries 261parks14same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt takes insects on the wing from a branch and always returns to the same perch.
Its hunting technique is unmistakable: it waits upright on a visible perch, darts out in a short, acrobatic flight to catch an insect in mid-air, and returns to exactly the same spot, repeating it dozens of times an hour.
It is one of the last migrants to arrive in Spain in spring, often well into May, because it depends on flying insects being plentiful.
Its European decline, of more than fifty per cent over several decades, is one of the most frequently cited indicators of the fall in flying-insect biomass documented across the continent.