Fairy Flycatcher
Stenostira scita
The Fairy Flycatcher (Stenostira scita) is a uncommon fairy flycatcher found in 5 countries, weighing about 6 g. The fairy flycatcher or fairy warbler is a small passerine bird.
About the Fairy Flycatcher
The fairy flycatcher or fairy warbler is a small passerine bird. Formerly placed in the Old World flycatcher family, Muscicapidae, it is now separated with some other "odd flycatchers" as the new family Stenostiridae. It is the only member of the genus Stenostira.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The fairy flycatcher is 11–12 cm in length. The adult is pale grey above with a black mask through the eye and a white supercilium. The wings are black with a long white stripe, and the long black tail has white sides. The throat is white, the breast is pale grey, and the belly is white with a pinkish-grey wash to its centre. The sexes are alike, but the juvenile is browner than the adult. The eye is brown and the bill and legs are black.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Fairy Flycatcher can be seen all year round, with peak activity in September. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Fairy Flycatcher?
- The fairy flycatcher is 11–12 cm in length. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Fairy Flycatcher?
- The Fairy Flycatcher is a tiny sized bird weighing about 6 g.
- Where can you see a Fairy Flycatcher?
- The Fairy Flycatcher occurs in 5 countries, including South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia and Eswatini.
- What birds look similar to a Fairy Flycatcher?
- The Fairy Flycatcher is most easily confused with the African Blue Flycatcher, the White-tailed Blue Flycatcher and the Citrine Canary-flycatcher.
- Is the Fairy Flycatcher endangered?
- The Fairy Flycatcher is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Fairy Flycatcher for real
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