Red-bellied paradise flycatcher

Red-bellied paradise flycatcher
File:Flickr - Rainbirder - Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer) male.jpg
Red-bellied paradise flycatcher
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Monarchidae
Genus:	Terpsiphone
Species:	T. rufiventer
Binomial name
Terpsiphone rufiventer (Swainson, 1837)

The red-bellied paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer), also known as the black-headed paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird native to West 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.

Description

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.

Distribution and habitat

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 eggs are laid in a tiny cup nest in a tree.

References

• Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1