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Restless FlycatcherAlternate name(s): "Scissors Grinder", "Scissors Sharpener", "Dishwasher", "Crested Wagtail", "Dishlick", "Grinder" ![]() Size: 16-21 cm Weight: 18-25 g |
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Similar |
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See Restless
Flycatcher at Wikipedia ![]() |
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
Frontal view of a male Restless Flycatcher trying to impress
a competitor (in a mirror); note the jet-black lores
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
Frontal view of a male Restless Flycatcher trying to impress
a competitor (in a mirror) with its
calls
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2011]
Near-frontal view of a male Restless Flycatcher
(photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, February 2017]
Near-frontal view of a male(?) Restless Flycatcher
[Burren Junction, NSW, September 2017]
Near-frontal view of a male Restless Flycatcher with is crest erected
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2022]
Close-up near-lateral view of a male Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2019]
Near-lateral view of a Restless Flycatcher - this is what it
looks like as it produces its incredible "scissor grinder"
call,
which it can also intonate while in hovering flight
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, 2006]
Lateral view of a male(?) Restless Flycatcher; note the worn,
brownish primaries
[Burren Junction, NSW, September 2017]
Lateral view of a male Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, June 2012]
Lateral view of a preening male Restless Flycatcher
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, July 2019]
Lateral view of a Restless Flycatcher with almost
entirely white frontal plumage and a glossy blue-black back
[Eulah Creek, NSW, June 2007]
Near-dorsal view of a male(?) Restless Flycatcher
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, April 2018]
Near-dorsal view of a male(?) Restless Flycatcher
(photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, February 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a male Restless Flycatcher
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, July 2019]
Dorsal view of a male(?) Restless Flycatcher
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, April 2018]
Dorsal view of a Restless Flycatcher (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Cressbrook, near Toowoomba, QLD, July 2017]
Dorsal view of a male(?) Restless Flycatcher
[Burren Junction, NSW, September 2017]
Here we have a Restless Flycatcher with a fashionable new
hairdo - crown feathers being swept forward by a tailwind
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2011]
Lateral view of a hovering Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2014]
Lateral view of a hovering male(?) Restless Flycatcher; note
the jet-black lores
[Burren Junction, NSW, September 2017]
Dorsal view of a hovering Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2017]
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FEMALE |
Frontal portrait of a female(?) Restless Flycatcher; note the
grey lores, as opposed to the males' black lores (above)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, Mayy 2014]
This slightly different angle shows the rictal bristles, i.e.
the hairlike feathers around the bill, of a Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2014]
Close-up lateral view of a female Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2022]
Close-up lateral view of a female Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2022]
Lateral/ventral view of a female Restless Flycatcher with some fresh
plumage; here
the grey lores are clearly discernible
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Emerald, QLD, August 2019]
Lateral view of a female(?) Restless Flycatcher taking off from its perch
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, July 2014]
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PAIR |
Lateral view of a pair of Restless Flycatchers
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2022]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Near-frontal portrait of a juvenile Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2013]
Frontal/ventral view of a juvenile Restless Flycatcher
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2013]
Ventral view of a juvenile Restless Flycatcher; another (bad) photo
shows that the bird's gape is still yellow; note also the short tail
[Near Walgett, NSW, October 2010]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: Sep - Mar | Eggs: 2 - 4 | Incubation period: 14 - 15 days | Fledging age: 13 - 16 days |
The breeding season depends on geographical latitude and on weather conditions. Given the right conditions, Restless Flycatchers can breed almost all year round, from about August to May.
Nest building: Female & male | Incubation: Female & male | Dependent care: Female & male |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Basket | Material: Grass stems, rootlets, bark strips, lichen, webs | Height above ground: 2 - ? m |
Restless Flycatcher on its nest in an
Acacia salicina
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]
Here the Restless Flycatcher's partner brings cobwebs for
binding the nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]
"Change of the guard" at a Restless Flycatcher nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]
Restless Flycatcher nest on an horizontal fork in a
Cypress pine
tree, about 1.5 m out from the trunk
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]
The same Restless Flycatcher nest as shown above, now seen from
a different angle
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]
This photo, taken from the opposite side of the tree trunk,
shows that there are two Restless Flycatcher chicks in the nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]
A few days later, when no chicks were visible and the nest
looked abandoned, we went to take a shot from above, only to
find that the brood had failed during a long rainy spell; the
Cypress pine
tree had also been teeming with ants when the nest was first
found; they certainly did their job once the chicks were dead...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]
Restless Flycatcher nest in a fork of a Bottlebrush tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]
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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: Greyish-white, with mid-brown speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive | Elementary unit: Solitary/pair |
Restless Flycatchers are audacious birds that will enter patios and other partly enclosed structures in search of insects. They will approach humans to very short distances, sometimes arm's length.
Male Restless Flycatcher fighting the enemy...
calls
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
Male Restless Flycatcher fighting the enemy...
calls
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
Male Restless Flycatcher fighting the enemy...
calls
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
Male Restless Flycatcher fighting the enemy...
calls
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
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Food, Diet |
Like all other members of the Myiagra family known to us, Restless Flycatchers are insect hunters (as their name already suggests).
Restless Flycatcher with its prey, a spider
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2019]
Restless Flycatcher looking for spiders on a bull bar
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]
This Restless Flycatcher has taken an ant
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2006]
Restless Flycatcher taking a larger insect
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, 2006]
Restless Flycatchers are occasionally also seen by us (during winter) to take psyllids/lerps from the underside of eucalypt leaves in hovering flight.
Restless Flycatcher taking water, and a bath, from a puddle
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, April 2018]
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Additional information |
There is a separate page with a short description of psyllids and lerps.
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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.
rstless_20160202.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Contact calls(?) | © MD | |
rstless_20140715.mp3 |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Contact call(?) | © MD | |
rstless_20140304.mp3 |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Contact calls(?) | © MD | |
rstless_20160202_5.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Contact calls(?) Q&A | © MD | |
rstless_20140715_4.mp3 |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Pair Q&A | © MD | |
rstless_20160202_4.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Territorial calls(?) "chewy-chewy" | © MD | |
rstless_20151202_2.mp3 |
inquieta (W NSW) |
Territorial calls(?) | © MD | |
rstless_20151202_3.mp3 |
inquieta (W NSW) |
Territorial calls(?); long sequence | © MD | |
rstless_20170730.m4a |
inquieta (W NSW) |
2 males competing for territory | © MD | |
rstless_20170730_2.m4a |
inquieta (W NSW) |
2 males competing for territory | © MD | |
rstless_20180908.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
"Scissor grinder" calls | © MD | |
rstless_20140112.mp3 |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Warning call(?) | © MD | |
rstless_20160104_2.mp3 |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Upset (near nest) | © MD | |
rstless_20170724.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
rstless_20160202_2.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
? (babbling) | © MD | |
rstless_20160202_3.m4a |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
? (babbling) | © MD | |
rstless_20230811.mp3 |
inquieta (NW NSW) |
? | © MD |

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