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21

Paperbark Flycatcher (Myiagra nana) Alternate name(s): "Little Restless Flycatcher" Size: 17-19 cm; wing span 27 cm Weight: 12-18 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Paperbark Flycatchers are small flycatchers. Together with the closely related Restless Flycatcher, they are the only two species of flycatcher in Australia in which the two sexes are almost indistinguishable. They have a glossy blue-black head, down to the level of the bill, and back, down to the rump. The entire front, from lores to undertail coverts, including sides and flanks, is all-white. The uppertail and the wings are dark-grey, with a brown tinge on the flight feathers. After moulting into new plumage, they can have a pale-buff wash, mostly on the chest. As the feathers age, they become white again. Both sexes have a small erectile crest and the "whiskers" typical of flycatchers in general. The eyes have dark irises. The bill is black, the legs and feet are dark-grey. Juveniles have a pale creamy-buff wash on the throat and upper chest. Their head and back are dark-grey; the flight feathers have buff leading edges. Twitcher's tip Paperbark Flycatchers and Restless Flycatchers have basically identical plumages; Paperbark Flycatchers are the smaller of the two species.

Taxonomy, classification See Paperbark Flycatcher at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Paperbark Flycatchers (Myiagra nana) and Restless Flycatchers (Myiagra inquieta) are no longer considered to be conspecific.

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Paperbark Flycatcher is available HERE . Paperbark Flycatchers occur in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. In Australia Paperbark Flycatchers are found in the Kimberley, WA, the entire Top End of the NT and along the South coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, QLD, and along the West coast of Cape York peninsula, up to about the Kendall River. Paperbark Flycatchers have a preference for tropical woodland and riverine habitats.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting a Paperbark Flycatcher on the Marrakai track, NT, in August 2013. We first spotted Paperbark Flycatchers at various locations in and around Darwin, NT, e.g. at Fogg Dam NR, in August 2014. Several contributors report spotting Paperbark Flycatchers in various locations in and around Darwin, NT, and the rest of the Top End of the NT. M. Mearns reports finding Paperbark Flychatchers at Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) NP, QLD, in September 2019.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Paperbark Flycatcher (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, August 2013]

Frontal view of a Paperbark Flycatcher (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, September 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Paperbark Flycatcher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a Paperbark Flycatcher (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Dorsal view of a Paperbark Flycatcher (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, January 2018]

Ventral view of a Paperbark Flycatcher
[Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Ventral view of a Paperbark Flycatcher, here seen preening
[Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Two Paperbark Flycatchers interacting in flight (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
Kakadu NP, NT, July 2020]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Apr

Eggs: 3 - 4

Incubation period: 14 - 15 days

Fledging age: 13 - 16 days

Nest building: Female & male

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Grass stems, bark strips, webs

Height above ground: ?

Paperbark Flycatcher on its nest
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2014]

Paperbark Flycatcher glueing pieces of bark to a small fork in a paperbark eucalypt
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2014]

Paperbark Flycatcher working on its nest, while its partner makes sure that everything is built to specification
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2014]

Pair of Paperbark Flycatchers at their nest
[Fogg Dam NR, NT, August 2014]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 20 x 16 mm

Colour: Whitish, with mid-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a Paperbark Flycatcher hunting insects between rocks
[Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

papflyc_20140816_2.m4a	(Darwin, NT)	Contact calls	© MD
papflyc_20140816.m4a	(Darwin, NT)	Territorial calls	© MD
papflyc_20140816_4.mp3	(Darwin, NT)	Territorial calls	© MD
papflyc_pb_20180503.m4a	(Darwin, NT)	Territorial calls?; "chewy"	© PB
papflyc_20140817_3.m4a	(Top End, NT)	Excited/hunting	© MD
papflyc_20140817_2.m4a	(Top End, NT)	Various	© MD
papflyc_pb_20181110.m4a	(Darwin, NT)	?	© PB

More Paperbark Flycatcher sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Wed, 3 February 2021, 7:10 +00:00