Blue-and-white Flycatcher

Blue-and-white Flycatcher
This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Cyanoptila cyanomelana

Malay Name: Sambar-Berlau Rengkung Hitam

Chinese Name: 白腹蓝鹟

Range: Breeds from Korea to Japan and winters to Southeast Asia

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: intermedia, cyanomelana.

Local Subspecies: intermedia

Size: 18 cm

Identification: Male has cobalt-blue upperparts, blackish head-sides, throat and breast with rest of underparts whitish. Female has rather uniform brownish upperparts and breast with contrasting white belly and vent, whitish throat-patch and all black bill. First-winter male resembles female but has blue wings, tail and back to uppertail-coverts. Based on current knowledge, it is not possible to separate non-adult male from Zappey's Flycatcher in the field.

Similar looking species: Zappey's Flycatcher

Habitat: Forest, parks, gardens and wooded areas.

Behaviour/Ecology: Forages mainly at the mid-stratum and canopy levels for insects.

Local Status: Rare migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2017)

Featured reports: Mar 2022, Mar 2023, Dec 2023, Jan 2024, Nov 2024, Mar 2025

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Blue-and-white Flycatcher Cyanoptila cyanomelana
Average number of individuals by week based on Singapore Bird Database data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024 (all records)
Peak week Dec 03-Dec 09
Early date 14 Nov 2020
Late date 25 Mar 2023
Barring the occasional photogenic male, this species is hardly seen well in Singapore due to its preference for tall trees. Immature and female birds are also not identifiable in the field from the highly similar Zappey's Flycatcher.
First-winter male Blue-and-white/Zappey’s Flycatcher at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo Credit: Alan Ng
Male Blue-and-white Flycatcher at Singapore Botanic Gardens in Dec 2021. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Male Blue-and-white Flycatcher at Karuizawa Bird Sanctuary, Japan. Photo credit: Keita Sin
Male Blue-and-white Flycatcher at Karuizawa Bird Sanctuary, Japan. Photo credit: Keita Sin
Female Blue-and-white/Zappey’s Flycatcher at Tuas South. Photo Credit: See Toh Yew Wai
First-winter male Blue-and-white/Zappey’s Flycatcher at Dairy Farm Nature Park. Photo Credit: Alan Ng
Blue-and-white Flycatcher at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Male Blue-and-white Flycatcher at Bukit Batok Nature Park. Photo Credit: Myron Tay
Female Blue-and-white/Zappey’s Flycatcher at Tuas South. Photo Credit: See Toh Yew Wai

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Blue-and-white Flycatcher)

References:

BirdLife International. (2017). Cyanoptila cyanomelana. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T103758039A111161222.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

Wells, D. R. (1999). The Birds of the Thai-Malay Peninsula (Vol. 1). Academic Press, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Blue-and-white Flycatcher. Retrieved on May 10, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/blue-and-white-flycatcher.

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