African paradise flycatcher | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() | |
Males, brown and white morphs | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Monarchidae |
Genus: | Terpsiphone |
Species: | T. viridis |
Binomial name | |
Terpsiphone viridis (Müller, 1776) | |
Subspecies | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
|
The African paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis) is a medium-sized passerine bird. The two central tail feathers of the male are extended into streamers that commonly are more than twice as long as the body. The female tail feathers are of moderate length and without streamers. The upper parts of the male body, wings, and tail are boldly coloured in chestnut or rusty shades, but the underparts and the head are variably grey to blue-gray, with the head of the mature male being darker, commonly glossy black with greenish highlights. The beak and other bare areas, including a wattle ring round the eye, match the colour of the surrounding feathers. The female coloration is similar, though not so showy and glossy and with the head paler.
The African paradise flycatcher feeds mainly on insects. It builds a neat cup nest in which it lays a clutch, usually of two or three eggs. It generally inhabits open forest and savanna, and is a locally common resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed it as being of "least concern".
The African paradise flycatcher was originally described in the genus Muscicapa . Alternate names include the grey-headed paradise flycatcher, red-winged paradise-flycatcher and Southern paradise-flycatcher.
Ten subspecies are recognized: [2]
The adult male African paradise flycatcher is about 17 cm (6.7 in) long, but the very long tail streamers double this. It has a black head, neck and underparts, and chestnut wings and tail. There is a prominent white wingbar. The female has a browner tint to the underparts and lacks the wingbar and tail streamers. Young birds are similar to the female but duller.
The males show considerable variation in plumage in some areas. There is a morph of this species in which the male has the chestnut parts of the plumage replaced by white, and some races have black tail streamers.
This species readily hybridizes with the genetically similar Rufous-vented paradise flycatcher. [3] The red-bellied paradise flycatcher is also closely related to this species, and hybrids occur with the underparts a mixture of black and red.
The African paradise flycatcher is found in most parts of Africa south of the Sahara Desert and also the Arabian Peninsula. Its typical habitat is savannah woodland, open grassland with isolated trees, plantations, open woodland and scrubland. [4]
The African paradise flycatcher is a noisy bird with a harsh scolding call. It has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It is insectivorous, often hunting by catching flies on the wing, and eating eggs, larvae and adults. It also feeds on spiders and sometimes consumes berries. The cup-shaped nest is built in a tree and a clutch of two or three eggs are laid. [4]
The tawny-flanked prinia is a small passerine bird belonging to the genus Prinia in the family Cisticolidae, a family of Old World warblers. It is widespread and common in most parts of Africa south of the Sahara. The plain prinia of southern Asia was formerly included in this species but is now usually considered to be a separate species.
The chestnut-backed sparrow-lark is a passerine bird which is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
The red-bellied paradise flycatcher, also known as the black-headed paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird of the family of monarch flycatchers. It is native to intra-tropical forests of Africa. The male bird is about 17 cm (7 in) long and has a black head, a mainly chestnut body, and a tail with streamers nearly twice as long as the body. The colouring is somewhat variable across the bird's range. Both females and juveniles lack the tail streamers and are a duller brown colour. It is closely related to the African paradise flycatcher, and the two can hybridise.
The Indian paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird native to Asia, where it is widely distributed. As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Myanmar.
The paradise flycatchers (Terpsiphone) are a genus of birds in the family Monarchidae. The genus ranges across Africa and Asia, as well as a number of islands. A few species are migratory, but the majority are resident. The most telling characteristic of the genus is the long tail streamers of the males of many species. In addition to the long tails the males and females are sexually dimorphic and have rufous, black and white plumage.
The Seychelles paradise flycatcher is a rare bird from the genus of paradise flycatchers (Terpsiphone) within the family Monarchidae. It is a forest-dwelling bird endemic to the Seychelles where it is native to the island of La Digue. Males have glossy black plumage with elongated tail feathers, while females are reddish-brown with pale underparts and no long tail feathers. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists this bird as being "Vulnerable" and attempts have been made to increase its numbers by relocating some individuals to Denis Island, another island in the Seychelles archipelago.
The augur buzzard is a fairly large African bird of prey. This species is distinct in typical adult plumage for its blackish back, whitish underside and orange-red tail, while juvenile augur buzzards are generally rather brown in colour; however a dark morph is known, which causes the bird's entire body to become darker. This member of the Buteo genus is distributed in several parts of the central and southern Africa, normally being found from Ethiopia to southern Angola and central Namibia. It is resident and non-migratory throughout its range. This is a species of mountains, and adjacent savannah and grassland. This is a typical buteonine raptor, being a generalist predator which tends to prefer small mammals supplemented by reptiles and birds among various prey items.
The black paradise flycatcher, also known as the Japanese paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird native to southeastern Asia. It is a glossy black, chestnut and white bird, slightly smaller than either the Amur paradise flycatcher or Blyth's paradise flycatcher, but similar in appearance. Males have exceptionally long tails. Females are generally duller in appearance and have shorter tails.
The rufous-naped lark or rufous-naped bush lark is a widespread and conspicuous species of lark in the lightly wooded grasslands, open savannas and farmlands of the Afrotropics. Males attract attention to themselves by a bold and often repeated wing-fluttering display from a prominent perch, which is accompanied by a melodious and far-carrying whistled phrase. This rudimentary display has been proposed as the precursor to the wing-clapping displays of other bush lark species. They have consistently rufous outer wings and a short erectile crest, but the remaining plumage hues and markings are individually and geographically variable. It has a straight lower, and longish, curved upper mandible.
Eversmann's redstart, also known as the rufous-backed redstart, is a passerine bird belonging to the genus Phoenicurus. It was formerly classified in the thrush family Turdidae but is now placed in the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae. It was described by the German biologist Eduard Friedrich Eversmann who is commemorated in the bird's English name.
The white-browed robin-chat, also known as Heuglin's robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Found in east, central and southern Africa, its natural habitats include riverine forest and thickets, and it is also found near humans. The IUCN classifies it as a least-concern species.
The bearded scrub robin, also known as the eastern bearded scrub robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa.
The baglafecht weaver is a species of weaver bird from the family Ploceidae which is found in eastern and central Africa. There are several disjunct populations with distinguishable plumage patterns. Only some races display a discrete non-breeding plumage.
The Mascarene paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. There are two subspecies recognized: the nominate subspecies from Réunion, also known as the Réunion paradise flycatcher; and T. b. desolata from Mauritius. The Mascarene paradise flycatcher was originally described in the genus Muscicapa and the subspecies T. b. desolata was originally described as a separate species.
The rufous paradise flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is found in Indonesia and the Philippines. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
The blue-mantled crested flycatcher or African crested flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae found in eastern and south-eastern Africa.
The broad-tailed paradise whydah is a species of bird in the family Viduidae. It is found woodland and acacia savanna habitat in Sub-Saharan Africa from Angola to Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique. A brood parasite, it has a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed it as being of least concern.
Bates's paradise flycatcher is a passerine bird belonging to the monarch-flycatcher family, Monarchidae. The sexes are similar in appearance with the upper parts being rufous and the head and underparts being bluish-grey. It is native to central Africa where it is found in the understorey of forests.
The Abyssinian wheatear, or Abyssinian black wheatear, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It is found from Ethiopia to southern Kenya and north-eastern Tanzania.
Blyth's paradise flycatcher, also called the oriental paradise flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae. It is native from southern China to Sumatra and Melanesia. Formerly, it was considered a subspecies of the Asian paradise flycatcher until elevated to species rank by the IOC in 2015.