Slaty-backed Forktail

The slaty-backed forktail is a slim, medium-sized forktail distinguished from similar species by its slate-grey forehead, crown and mantle. It has a long, deeply forked tail banded black and white, a white rump and a white bar across the primaries, with the rest of the plumage predominantly white; the sexes look alike (Wikipedia, general species account).

It frequents the edges of fast-flowing streams and rivers, hunting small invertebrates by hopping among rocks or flying out over the water. It is generally solitary, occasionally in pairs or in family groups in the breeding season, which runs from February to July, with three or four pinkish, bluish or white eggs incubated by both sexes. One call has been likened to Blyth's kingfisher's, for which it has been mistaken, and another is a mellow cheet (Wikipedia, general species account).