In the year 2022, I had a female Taiga Flycatcher wintering in the area just behind my house. And what an experience it had been observing it, right from how my daughter noticed it. You must read about it here. Come winter migration time of 2023, I was hoping the Taiga Flycatcher would come again. And it did. But this time a male!

It was October of 2023. I started to keep my ears open. I listened for any sounds of the Taiga Flycatcher around the “wild” patch behind my house. I also periodically visually scanned the patch for any signs of the bird. I was elated when around mid October morning I heard its first calls 😃. Yes! Now to find the bird. Some scanning and tracing its calls, I finally saw it perched on a low branch. It was a male this time!

Here are some photos of it from the first day:

It’s breeding plumage appeared faded as expected. Here is a short video from that sighting:

Over the next 5 months, it stayed in the same patch. Almost every morning I would hear it. Many times, it would come close and perch near the window as well as near my garden. Come March and it would soon be time for it head back to its breeding grounds. Being a male, this would also mean that it would have started getting its breeding plumage back. And I was keen to see it.

Here are some photos of it around mid March.

See its transition? You can see the bright colours back on its throat. What a beauty!

It is also called the Red-throated Flycatcher, although maybe Orange-throated maybe more appropriate. What do you think?