Binomial name
Eutrichomyias rowleyi
(Meyer, 1878)
The Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher, Eutrichomyias rowleyi, is a medium-sized (up to 18cm long), blue flycatcher with bright cerulean blue plumage, bare white orbital ring, dark brown iris, bluish black bill and pale blue-grey below. The young has a shorter tail and grey underparts. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Eutrichomyias.
The Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher is endemic to the island of Sangihe, off north Sulawesi in Indonesia. Previously known only from a single specimen collected in 1873, this rare bird was rediscovered in October 1998 around forested valleys of Mount Sahendaruman in southern Sangihe. Its diet consists mainly of insects and other small invertebrates.
The scientific name commemorates the British explorer and ornithologist George Dawson Rowley.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, a small population size, and limited range, the Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher is evaluated as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.