Songbird Saturday: Pied Flycatcher

From April, the ancient oak and mixed woodlands of Wales – along with western England and Scotland – become home to a special little bird with an unforgettable voice.

The Pied Flycatcher would top the list of many people's favourite birds – and for good reason too. This diminutive fly-catcher, a little smaller than the House Sparrow, is a picture; males are striking, mostly black on their upperparts with white underneath and a bold white wing patch, while females (and juveniles) are more uniformly brown, but very attractive nonetheless and still with the same white wing patch. 

Their behaviour can’t fail to capture the attention, either. Travelling from their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa, the males arrive in woodlands along the western seaboard nice and early to secure the top spots from which to woo the females, which usually arrive a little later. In displays of machismo designed to attract mates and ward off competitors, these plucky males flex their vocal muscles on branches relatively low down in the canopy – which provides a wonderful nature spectacle for those lucky enough to see it before the trees are in leaf. Even as the foliage burgeons and become fuller, the characteristic fly-catching behaviour of these quick little birds, which hunt on the wing from a chosen perch, can’t fail to catch the eye.

The Pied Flycatcher’s song is one all of its own. High-pitched and melodious, but also a little jerky and irregular, featuring a mixture of strophes (sections) with around 10 up or down slurred syllables and usually two distinct phrases. Ornithologists usually teach this tune with a mnemonic such as ‘tree, tree, I come to thee’. It also has a simpler, more repetitive call.

Since this bird is on a tight deadline, it focuses its efforts on finding a mate and securing a territory, so the song is generally only heard for a short amount of time early on in the breeding season. Once a male has paired up, his singing decreases dramatically as he focuses on foraging for insects. Occasionally a male might take another, second mate – in which case he will again perform his intense song – but otherwise this bird does not tend to join in with the rest of the dawn chorus, like those species who work hard to retain their territories year-round.

The scarcity of the Pied Flycatcher’s preferred habitat – the ancient, wet oak woodlands, or temperate rainforest as it’s also called – mean this beautiful little bird is, in turn, a much scarcer sight than it used to be. Coupled with its fleeting time here – usually from April until August/September – and the brevity of its intense singing period, it makes the song of the Pied Flycatcher one of nature’s most precious spectacles.

Pied Flycatcher song at a glance:

WHEN: Males usually sing upon first arrival to woodlands in April, reducing their singing once they have paired up. Birds leave Wales and the rest of the UK for West Africa from August-early October

WHERE: Primarily mature oak woodlands. They are Temperate Rainforest specialists and Wales is a stronghold for the species.

WHAT: Song is high-pitched and melodious, but also jerky and irregular, featuring a mixture of sections, with the mnemonic phrase: ‘tree, tree, I come to thee’. They also have a simpler, more repetitive call.