African Paradise Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The African Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis) is a medium-sized passerine
bird.
The African Paradise Flycatcher is a common resident breeder in Africa
south of the Sahara Desert. This species is usually found in open forests and savannah habitats. Two or three eggs are laid in a tiny cup nest in a tree.
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The adult male African Paradise Flycatcher is about 17cm 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.
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 flycatching.
The Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher
, Terpsiphone rufiventer, is closely related to this species, and hybrids occur with the underparts a mixture of black and red.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird.
The African Paradise Flycatcher is a common resident breeder in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
south of the Sahara Desert. This species is usually found in open forests and savannah habitats. Two or three eggs are laid in a tiny cup nest in a tree.
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.
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
Shrike
Shrikes are passerine birds of the family Laniidae. The family is composed of thirty-one species in three genera. The family name, and that of the largest genus, Lanius, is derived from the Latin word for "butcher", and some shrikes were also known as "butcher birds" because of their feeding habits...
. It is insectivorous, often hunting by flycatching.
The Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher
Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher
The Black-headed Paradise-flycatcher , also known as the Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird....
, Terpsiphone rufiventer, is closely related to this species, and hybrids occur with the underparts a mixture of black and red.
External links
- African Paradise Flycatcher videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection