Lompobattang Flycatcher

The Lompobattang flycatcher is confined to the Lompobattang massif of south-western Sulawesi; its type locality is Bonthain Peak at roughly 1,800 m. Taxonomists have linked it in a superspecies with the cryptic, furtive, Palawan and Sumba flycatchers, but current checklists retain Ficedula bonthaina as a distinct species. Its extreme geographic restriction makes the mountain locality central to identification (Avibase; White and Bruce 1986).

Field observations place it in dense, heavily shaded montane understorey from about 1,100 m, including disturbed forest with treefall gaps, saplings and Pandanus. It stayed from ground level to about 4.5 m and avoided nearby open understorey. Birds fed very low, making short trips to the ground and gleaning insects from leaves and woody vegetation more often than performing long aerial sallies (Fraser and Henson 1996; BirdLife Red Data Book account).