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Spotted Flycatchers are small insectivore birds. Their plumage is cryptic. They are basically grey to grey-brown all over, with some striation on the crown and down the throat and chest. The wing coverts have light-grey edge lining, while the flight feathers and the tail are dark-grey. The back is mid-grey, while the belly, vent and undertail coverts are light-grey. Only the supercilium has a noticeable brownish tinge. The irises are dark. The straight bill is dark-grey; the legs and feet are also dark-grey. Juvenile Spotted Flycatchers have a lighter-grey front than adults.

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 Spotted Flycatcher is available HERE .

Spotted Flycatchers are a migratory species with in total about 7 races. Their breeding range extends from western Europe, including the British Isles, and near-coastal north-western Africa, to central and southern central Asia in the East. On migration they are found in parts of North Africa, all of Asia Minor, parts of the Middle East and the Arabian peninsula. They spend the northern winters in parts of Africa and south-west Asia.

In passage between Africa and Asia, Spotted Flycatchers are found basically everywhere, at least along the near-coastal fringes of Arabia. The most likely race to cross is "sarudnyi", whose breeding range extends from eastern Iran and Turkmenistan to the mountains of central Asia and northern Pakistan.

Spotted Flycatchers have a preference for habitats with some vegetation (shrubs, trees) with suitable perches, from which they hawk for insects into open areas. We have found Spotted Flycatchers in an arboretum.

Race "sarudnyi"

Race "striata"

Race "tyrrhenica"