Ashy Flycatcher

The ashy flycatcher (Fraseria caerulescens) is a species of bird in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, excluding the drier areas of South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia, where it inhabits subtropical or tropical dry forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and savanna. It has a disputed generic placement, with different authorities variously putting it in Muscicapa, Fraseria, or other genera. Ashy flycatchers are mostly grey in colour, with pale grey or white underparts, and display no sexual dimorphism. The species has a small, thin, and pointed beak adapted for eating insects. Its diet is mostly insectivorous, although it also eats berries and small geckoes. The birds are very active, foraging alone, in groups, or in mixed-species flocks. They forage in the upper levels of the canopy, catching prey in flight and from foliage, bark, and leaves. The species breeds in solitary pairs, with each pair maintaining a territory of 1–4 hectares and raising young alone. A variety of vocalisations are used by the species, and there is very little geographical variation in calls. == Taxonomy and systematics == The ashy flycatcher was originally described as Butalis caerulescens by the German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub…