CreatureData

Spotted forktail

Enicurus maculatus Vigors, 1831

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus) is a species in the family Muscicapidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 40.4 g to 41 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus)
Photo: John Gould / Henry Constantine Richter · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the spotted forktail

Weight
40.4 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the spotted forktail live?

Not recorded

What is the spotted forktail?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus) is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in the Himalayas and the hills of Northeast India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and southern China including Yunnan. Birds of this species are 25 cm with a long tail. The sexes are alike, having a white forehead and a black crown and nape, a black back spotted white, and a broad white wing bar. The tail is deeply forked, graduated black and white. The white spotted back easily identifies this species from other similar sized forktail. Its call is a shrill, screechy KREE, mostly given in flight; it also makes some shrill, squeaky notes while perched. It breeds mostly at 1200–3600 m, and descends to about 600 m in winter. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, where it is found in boulder-strewn torrents, forest streams, and roadside canals.

From the Wikipedia article “Spotted forktail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spotted_forktail&oldid=1315275506), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the spotted forktail endangered?

The spotted forktail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the spotted forktail classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyMuscicapidae
  6. genusEnicurus
  7. SpeciesEnicurus maculatus Vigors, 1831

Synonyms Enicurus maculatus omissus, Henicurus maculatus omissus

Other names and names in other languages (28)
  • enicur ocel·latCatalan
  • drozdek skvrnitohřbetýCzech
  • robin gynffonfforchog brithWelsh
  • Plettet KløfthaleDanish
  • FleckenscherenschwanzGerman
  • makula enikuroEsperanto
  • Torrentero moteadoSpanish
  • tähnik-käärsabaEstonian
  • pitsihaarapyrstöFinnish
  • Énicure tachetéFrench
  • pjegava rašljorepkaCroatian
  • foltos villásrigóHungarian
  • Codaforcuta macchiatoItalian
  • セボシエンビシキチョウJapanese
  • dėmėtasis šakotuodegis strazdasLithuanian
  • punktainā dakšasteLatvian
  • Gevlekte VorkstaartDutch
  • flekkløftstjertNorwegian
  • widłogon plamistyPolish
  • torrenteiro-malhadoPortuguese
  • Пятнистая вилохвосткаRussian
  • vidličiarka bodkovanáSlovak
  • Pegava rašljorepkaSerbian
  • fläckig klyvstjärtSwedish
  • Benekli ÇatalkuyrukTurkish
  • вилохвістка плямистаUkrainian
  • Chích chòe nước đốm trắngvi=Vietnamese
  • 斑背燕尾Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the spotted forktail

Other species in the same genus Enicurus.

LC, Least Concern

Sunda forktail

Enicurus velatus

MuscicapidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSpotted forktail vs Little forktailSpotted forktail vs Javan forktailSpotted forktail vs Black-backed forktailSpotted forktail vs Slaty-backed forktail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the spotted forktail?

An adult spotted forktail weighs 40.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the spotted forktail endangered?

The spotted forktail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the spotted forktail?

The spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus) belongs to the family Muscicapidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-forktail

MLA

“Spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-forktail.

BibTeX
@misc{spotted_forktail_2026,
  title = {Spotted forktail (Enicurus maculatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/spotted-forktail},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}