Tickells blue flycatcher looking back, Dandeli

Tickell’s blue flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) is a small passerine bird in the flycatcher family. The name commemorates the British ornithologist Samuel Tickell. This is an insectivorous species which breeds in tropical Asia, from the Indian Subcontinent eastwards to Bangladesh and western Myanmar. The Indochinese blue flycatcher was formerly considered conspecific. They are blue on the upperparts and the throat and breast are rufous. They are found in dense scrub to forest habitats.

Tickell’s blue flycatcher is about 11–12 cm long. It sits upright and forages mainly in the overgrowth. The male’s upper parts are bright blue, its throat and breast are red, and the rest of the underparts are white. The female is duller blue with a brighter blue brow, shoulder, rump, and tail. It hybridizes with the pale-chinned blue flycatcher (Cyornis poliogenys) in the Eastern Ghats of India and these hybrids have sometimes been called the subspecies vernayi. The juvenile is streaked and has a spotted mantle, scaly brown upperparts, head and breast, with just the wings and tail being blue. They have sometimes been known to feed even after dusk. Apart from flying insects they have been noted to occasionally glean crawling insects. The species shows regional variations in plumage and size and several of these populations have been designated with subspecies names. They feed mainly by capturing insects in flight but their prey include other insects such as termites and earwigs that may be gleaned or picked from the ground. Now they are being observed inhabiting garbage places. During the breeding season, they may take larger prey including small vertebrates. Tickell’s blue flycatcher is a resident, with some localized movements. Not globally threatened and is classified as Least Concern by IUCN. Locally common in India, but scarce resident or possibly only winter visitor in lowland Nepal; common in Sri Lanka.