The Ceylon Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone paradisi ceylonensis), also known as Sri Lanka Paradise-flycatcher is the resident subspecies out of the two subspecies of Asian Paradise-flycatcher found in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

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Taxonomy

The taxon was formerly described by Nikolai Alekseyvich Zarudny

Nikolai Zarudny

Nikolai Alekseyvich Zarudny was a Ukrainian-Russian explorer and zoologist of Ukrainian origin, who studied the fauna, especially the birds of Central Asia. He was born in Gryakovo, Ukraine . He wrote his first ornithology book in 1896 and made five expeditions in the Caspian region from 1884 and...

 & Hermann Härms

Hermann Harms

Hermann August Theodor Harms was a German taxonomist and botanist. In 1938 he revised the pitcher plant genus Nepenthes, dividing it into three subgenera: Anurosperma, Eunepenthes and Mesonepenthes....

 in 1912.

Description

Adults are about 20 cm long. Shows sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...

. Adult male has a glossy black head with a black crest. The back, wings and the tail feathers are rufous in colour. Adult male is distinguished by the long tail feathers that are longer than the body. The tail is about 30 cm long. The female also has a black head. They are rufous on the back, wings and tail with a greyish throat and underparts. They have short tails. Immature males look very much like females.

The call, uttered often is a harsh tchree, and the song, uttered occasionally, is a musical twee-tee-twee-tyu.

Distribution and habitat

The Ceylon Paradise-flycatcher is found in Sri Lanka as a resident species. It flits about in wooded habitats and gardens. Mostly seen in the low country dry zone during the breeding season

Breeding season

The breeding season is the most suitable season, usually with favourable conditions and abundant food and water, for breeding among some wild animals and birds . Species with a breeding season have naturally evolved to have sexual intercourse during a certain time of year in order to achieve the...

. Also seen in the dry lower hills. It visits other areas in the migrant season

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 (northern winter).

Ecology and behaviour

Visits woods and flits about branches of small trees and bushes below the level of the taller trees in search of food during the daytime. Often flashes its tail as it actively takes insects on the wing. It habitually jump into a small puddle and take a bath in the evening.

Feeding

The Ceylon Paradise-flycatcher is insectivorous.It catches insects while in flight in the understory

Understory

Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...

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Breeding

Breeding season is from April to July. They breed in the dry lowlands and the lower hills. Build nests on a tree about 2–4 m or higher from the ground. The nest is made up of small grass, fibers connected by spider's web threads in the shape of a cup. They lay clutches of 2-3 eggs. The eggs are reddish brown with spots (More spots on the obtuse side).