African Paradise-Flycatcher

Rufous Morph
Photo by rudydbn
Durban Botanical Gardens, South Africa, September 2004

Terpsiphone viridis

Identification

18 cm (7 in) with 10-18 cm (4-7 in) long tail streamers.
Male - black head, neck and underparts, chestnut wings and tail, white wingbar.
Female - browner tint to the underparts, no wingbar and no tail streamers.
Young birds are similar to the female but duller.

The male African Paradise Flycatcher comes in two distinct forms a rufous morph and a white morph. They may even change colour from rufous to white and can sometimes be seen part way through the change with a mixture of white and rufous feathers. The dark head and blue eye are common to both forms. The female always retains the rufous colouring.

African Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis) is closely related to Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer) , and hybrids occur with the underparts a mixture of black and red.

Female
Photo by Steve G
Mandina Lodges, Makasutu, The Gambia, March 2005

Distribution

Widespread throughout Africa (south of the Sahara Desert) and the Middle East
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegambia, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Swaziland
Middle East: Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman

Taxonomy

White Morph, young male
Photo by Steve G
Arabuko-Sokoke forest, coastal Kenya, August 2007

Subspecies

Subspecies harterti
Photo by brackenb
Abha, Saudi Arabia, June 2014

There are 10 subspecies.^[1]

• T. v. viridis:

• Senegal and Gambia to Sierra Leone

• T. v. speciosa:

• Southern Cameroon south to northeastern Angola, east to Democratic Republic of the Congo and southwestern South Sudan

• T. v. ferreti:

• Mali and Ivory Coast to north-eastern Zaire, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania

• T. v. restricta:

• Lake Victoria region of western Kenya and Uganda

• T. v. kivuensis:

• South-western Uganda to eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi and north-western Tanzania

• T. v. suahelica:

• Highlands of western Kenya and Tanzania

• T. v. ungujaensis:

• Eastern Tanzania to Zambia; Zanzibar, Pemba Island and Mafia Island

• T. v. plumbeiceps:

• Southern Angola to western Zaire, south-western Tanzania and north-eastern South Africa

• T. v. granti:

• Natal to south-western Cape Province; winters to southern Tanzania

• T. v. harterti:

• Southern Arabian peninsula

Habitat

Evergreen, coastal and riverine forests.

Behaviour

Breeding

The clutch consists of 2-3 eggs which are laid in a tiny cup nest in a tree.

Diet

Subspecies ferreti
Photo by volker sthamer
Langano, Ethiopia, March 2016

The diet consists of insects, including eggs and larvae, spiders; they also eat some small berries.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Avibase
3. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2016)
4. Wikipedia

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) African Paradise-Flycatcher. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 1 November 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/African_Paradise-Flycatcher

External Links

Search for photos of African Paradise-Flycatcher in the gallery

Search for videos of African Paradise-Flycatcher on BirdForum TV