Male: blue-grey above; black stripe from lores to nape; whitish cheeks and upper throat; all but central tail feathers black, with white markings; chestnut below. Female: duller chestnut below. Pairs or several, often with other small birds; restless climber; clings to bark and usually works up the tree stem, hammering with beak; also moves upside-down and sideways; may visit the ground.
Glossy black plumage, with iridescent purple and green; plumage spotted with buff and white; hackled feathers on head, neck and breast; yellowish beak and red-brown legs. Summer (breeding) plumage mostly blackish. Several races winter in N India, with head purple or bronze-green, but field identification of races not very easy in winter. Gregarious, restless birds; feeds on ground, moving hurriedly, digging with beak in soil; entire flock may often take off from ground; flies around erratically or circles, but soon settles on trees or returns to ground.
Male: dark grey above, streaked black; black mask; white supercilium, wing-patch and outer tail; white throat and belly; dull grey breast. Female: rufous-brown, streaked; rusty rump and outer tail; white throat; yellow-brown below. Solitary or pairs; like other chats, keeps to open country and edge of forest; perches on bush tops and poles, flirts tail often; regularly seen in an area; flies to ground on spotting insect.
Sexes alike. Ashy-grey head, throat and breast; darker crown; yellow-green back and yellow rump; yellow in browner wings and tail; yellow below breast. Solitary or in pairs, occasionally several in vicinity, especially in mixed parties; a forest bird, typical flycatcher, excitedly flitting about, launching aerial sallies and generally on the move; wherever this bird is, its cheerful unmistakable calls are heard.
Male is almost stark white above and black below; has long, broad white supercilium, white panels on wings and black tail. Female mostly grey-brown above and pale greyish below; female of eastern race australorientis has more rufous on rump and tail. Juvenile is spotted brown and buff. Can be seen singly, or in pairs; gregarious; often in mixed foraging flocks; arboreal; active hunter at canopy level.
Male: dull-brown above; white in tail conspicuous in night or when tail is flicked; rufous-orange chin, throat; whitish below. Female: white throat; palebuff breast. Solitary or in scattered pairs in shaded areas; may descend to ground, but prefers low and middle branches; flicks wings and lifts tail; launches short aerial sallies; hunts till late in evening; calls often.
Characterised by even grey upperparts and wings with reddish-orange on sides of tail, which very noticeable in flight--from below the undertail can look completely orange. Adult male has red supercilium, throat and breast, grey upperparts, and whitish underparts. Female is similar to male, but has a white or buffish throat and blackstreaked malar stripe, and red of breast is a gorget of spotting. First-winter has white tips to greater coverts and pale-fringed tertials. First-winter male resembles adult female. First-winter female is less heavily marked, and has finely streaked breast and flanks; usually shows rufous wash to supercilium and throat and/or breast.
Blue-grey above; orangish-rufous head, nape and underbody; white ear-coverts with two dark brown vertical stripes; white throat and shoulder-patch. The Orange-headed nominate race has entire head rufous-orange. Usually in pairs; feeds on ground, rummaging in leaf litter and under thick growth; flies into leafy branch if disturbed; occasionally associates with laughingthrushes and babblers; vocal and restless when breeding.
Male: blue plumage; brown wings and tail; pale fulvous and black scales more conspicuous in winter; belly whiter in winter. Female: duller, greybrown above; dark shaft-streaks; black barring on rump; dull white below, barred brown. Solitary; has favoured sites, often around habitation; perches on rocks, stumps, roof tops; has a rather upright posture; flies on to ground to feed, but sometimes launches short aerial sallies.
Sexes alike. Greyish-brown plumage; broad whitish supercilium and dark stripe below eye distinctive; white outer tail feathers seen when bird flies. Dark stripe
may be slightly paler in female. Pairs or small parties; quiet for greater part of year, vocal when breeding (February–May); keeps to middle levels of trees, hopping about, sometimes coming to ground.
