European Pied Flycatcher Identification Guide

The European Pied Flycatcher has a dark brown to black head with a white spot on the forehead.

Its back and wings are dark brown to black with a white wing bar.

The underside of the body is white.

In females, the dark brown to black color is replaced by a warm brown.

The European Pied Flycatcher repeats a simple, quite melodious song. It constructs short phrases with 3-4 different notes sometimes ending with a joyful finale! It is more melodious than that of the Spotted Flycatcher.

Its calls can be short "huit" or screeching "tsek".

The European Pied Flycatcher is an insect hunter.

It hunts from a perch and captures its prey on the ground, in mid-flight, or in bushes.

It sometimes hovers to catch insects on leaves.

Unlike the Spotted Flycatcher, it does not chase its prey and does not return to the same perch.

The male is black and white only during the breeding season. This is its breeding plumage to attract the female.

Outside the breeding season, the male closely resembles the female.

The European Pied Flycatcher is cavity-nesting and can also settle in nest boxes.

Its nest is a cup of twigs and leaves in cavities and nest boxes.

The flycatcher is a late nester because it needs a large amount of insects available at the end of spring.

Nesting sites are often taken when the flycatcher arrives at its breeding site.

Installing nest boxes provides it with places to nest.

The male flies around the hole or nest box it has chosen and tries to attract a female, mainly through the colors of its plumage.

The male may have several females.

The European Pied Flycatcher eats flying insects and other insects, spiders, ants, larvae... as it is a bit less adept than the Spotted Flycatcher.

In Europe, the European Pied Flycatcher is seen only during its breeding season.

It lives in light deciduous woods, orchards and parks and gardens.

It is a long-distance migrant.

It arrives in Europe in April and departs in August-September to the south of the Sahara.