A photo of a Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus picatus)
Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike

Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrike

Hemipus picatus

The bar-winged flycatcher-shrike (Hemipus picatus) is a small passerine bird usually placed in the Vangidae. It is found in the forests of tropical southern Asia from the Himalayas and hills of southern India to Indonesia. Mainly insectivorous it is found hunting in the mid-canopy of forests, often joining mixed-species foraging flocks. They perch upright and have a distinctive pattern of black and white, males being more shiny black than the females. In some populations the colour of the back is brownish while others have a dark wash on the underside. The bar-winged flycatcher-shrike is black capped with black wings that contrast with the white of the body. A white slash across the wing and a white rump stand out in contrast. They sit upright on branches, flying around to glean insects. The nostril is hidden by hairs and the upper mandible of the beak has a curved tip. Males are velvety black while females tend to be greyish brown but the pattern varies across the geographic populations. Both males and females of the Himalayan H. p. capitalis have a brown back but the males have a black head. The Sri Lankan population leggei lacks sexual dimorphism in plumage. H. p. intermedius has only the females with a brownish back. The tail is black but the outer tail feathers are white while the non-central tail feathers are tipped with white. The call is a rapid and high tsit-it-it-it or a whriri-whirriri-whirriri and sometimes a sharp chip. Male-female pairs of the subspecies leggei of Sri Lanka have been reported to duet with precision.
Birda logo
Download Birda for free and join the community of curious everyday people connecting with the natural world
Birda logo
Download Birda for free and join the community

Bar-winged Flycatcher-shrikes on Birda

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Lucas Corneliussen
Sunday 08 Jan 2023 - 7:03am
Thailand
A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Lucas Corneliussen
Wednesday 04 Jan 2023 - 6:35am
Thailand
A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Arjun Cheyyur
Sunday 25 Dec 2022 - 10:21am
India
A map showing the sighting location
🦉
Jiwateshwar Singh
Saturday 18 Jun 2022 - 5:00pm
India
Connect with nature,
Find your flock
Copyright © 2023 Chirp Birding Ltd. All rights reserved.