Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
The Black-headed Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer), also known as the Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine
bird
.
However, the Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher is a common resident breeder in tropical western Africa
south of the Sahara Desert. This species is usually found in thick forests and other well-wooded habitats. Two egg
s are laid in a tiny cup nest in a tree.
The adult male of this species is about 17 cm long, but the long tail streamers nearly double the birds length. It has a black head, and the rest of the plumage
is chestnut, other than a prominent black wingbar. The female is duller and lacks the tail streamers. Young birds are plain brown.
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 Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher is a noisy bird with a sharp zweetcall. It has short legs and sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike
. It is insectivorous, often hunting by flycatching.
The black-bellied African Paradise-flycatcher, Terpsiphone viridis, 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
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
.
However, the Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher is a common resident breeder in tropical western 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 thick forests and other well-wooded habitats. Two egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s are laid in a tiny cup nest in a tree.
The adult male of this species is about 17 cm long, but the long tail streamers nearly double the birds length. It has a black head, and the rest of the plumage
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
is chestnut, other than a prominent black wingbar. The female is duller and lacks the tail streamers. Young birds are plain brown.
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 Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher is a noisy bird with a sharp zweetcall. 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 black-bellied African Paradise-flycatcher, Terpsiphone viridis, is closely related to this species, and hybrids occur with the underparts a mixture of black and red.