Semi-collared flycatcher

Length about 12–13.5 cm at species level. The bill is fine and dark. Breeding males are black on the head and back and white below, with a white forehead patch. The white on the neck sides forms a half-collar: it does not meet as a complete ring. The closed wing usually shows a large white patch plus a second pale bar of white-tipped median coverts. The outer tail often shows more white than in European pied flycatcher. A pale grey rump may be visible; it is not the broad white saddle of collared flycatcher.

Adult females and many autumn birds are brown above and paler below, with a white wing patch. The second wing-bar is often still the best clue, but brown Ficedula in Georgia should not be named from a poor view. Juveniles resemble females. Breeding males in late May are in full pied plumage.

European pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) is a passage migrant (M) in Georgia on the 2024 checklist, not a breeder. Breeding males lack a half-collar and usually lack the second median-covert bar. Collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) is also a passage migrant (M): breeding males have a complete white collar and a large white rump. Red-breasted flycatcher (Ficedula parva) is a breeding migrant with a rusty throat in adult males. Spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) is streaked grey-brown without a large white wing patch. This atlas has a page for European pied flycatcher; it does not yet have separate pages for the others.

It is not a threat to people. Leave it alone. A black-and-white flycatcher in Georgian woodland in late May is more likely this species than European pied flycatcher, on the 2024 checklist.