Yellow flycatcher (Erythrocercus holochlorus) im Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, at Kenya´s east coast

Goldrücken-SpreizschwanzAfter paying the fee to enter the Arabuke Sokoke Forest at Gedi Forest Station Visitors’ Bureau, we want to look at a small piece of woodland just beyond the ranger post. It is now 6:15 a.m.. So pretty early. It would not be worth it much sooner. There are thick clouds in the sky. We walk in the cloud-filtered morning light a path behind the office. Here the Golden-rumped Elephant Shrew (Rhynchocyon chrysopygus) should occur. Unfortunately, we only see some dugging residuals. At a daytime roost for owls, we see a pair of Brown greater Halago (Otolemur crassicaudatus), the so-called Bush babies, nestled close together. Otherwise there is not much to see on birds; and also not heard. It is pretty quiet. Suddenly we see a beautiful Yellow Flycatcher (Erythrocercus holochlorus), which our guide calls Little Yellow Flycatcher. With his tape we can attract the Yellow Flycatcher so far that it manages in photo pose and sings eagerly.

Later we will see Yellow flycatchers quite often. Mostly small family parties in mixed-species flocks that originated along a trail in a patch of evergreen mixed forest but also quite close to miombo woodland. One Yellow Flycatcher had caught a caterpillar in the canopy of the mixed forest.

The Yellow Flycatcher – or Little Yellow Flycatcher – as it is sometimes called, is a small, active warbler-like flycatcher with olive-yellow upperparts and bright yellow underparts, and conspicuous dark eye in centre of plain face. The bird occurs from Tanzania e.g. in the Tanga Region in the Handeni District in the Magambazi Forest Reserve north to Kenya (e.g. Diani in the coastal province) to the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest south of Malindi. The Arabuko Sokoke Forest is a remnant of the former extensive coastal forests in East Africa, Kenya.

The Yellow Flycatcher has a superficial reminiscence to a female Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia) of North America. It is also brightly colored and lacks any breast streaking. Its next relative might be the Livingstone’s Flycatcher (Erythrocercus livingstonei) of south-eastern Africa.

To cope with the growing demand for top shots of the rarer species of the Palearctic Bird-Lens is keen to enrich the range of pictures of birds you can find; and this not only in the Western Palearctic.  Beside the image of the blog you can find a nice selection of birds in the gallery or in the “Picture Shop” very soon. Just give a message, if Bird-Lens.com could serve you with an image needed before the new pictures are online.

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