Compared to other birds the Spotted Flycatchers voice is very unobtrusive and can easily be overlooked, especially when there is a Robin or Wren (Troglodytes Troglodytes) singing nearby. The alarm call on the other hand is a bit more obvious 'eez-tk(tk)' and can come quite close. Singing takes place at the start of the season on several favoured perches with good visibility, usually high in the canopy and can continue for quite a while.
One of best features to identify these birds is to see one feeding. They will perch on a branch, wire or fence and wait until a suitable flying insect flies near by and will leave the perch and catch the insect in mid flight, sometimes hovering and will usually fly back to the same perch to eat it. Other species will do this for example a Robin or Chaffinch (Fringilla Coelebs) but never with the ease and manoeuvrability of a Spotted Flycatcher.
Male and female birds are very similar in the field and are best seperated by behaviour. On ariving on a territory the male sings to attract a mate and re-affirm bonds with a femalethat it has bred with previously. The male will then show the female possible nesting sites by head posture and a more mummbled version of his song. When the female has chosen one of these sites she will solely begin to build the nest and lay around 3-5 eggs and then begin incubation (c13 days). The male takes no part in this and usually accompanies the famale on building trips and feeding sessions and will bring food back to the nest for the female frequently. The small moss nest is placed where there is good visibility from the nest and usually will hidden in vegetation on a tree, wall, ledge or even an open fronted nest box.
When the young hatch the female broods the young for a couple of days or so until the young can thermoregulate sufficently (depending on how cold the conditions are) and both adults continue to feed for about 14 days until the young leave the nest. After fledging the young will stay nearby and will be well hidden in trees or bushes until they are more capable of flying. Usually the only sign of them is their begging call for food deep within vegetation.The adults and young will move away from the nest and go to an area with better feeding like the edges of woodland or a mature hedgerow with many mature trees.
