Red-bellied Paradise Flycatcher | |
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Male | |
Information | |
Common Name | Black-headed Paradise Flycatcher |
Range | western Africa south of the Sahara Desert. |
Scientific Classification | |
Kingdom | Animalia |
Class | Aves |
Order | Passeriformes |
Family | Monarchidae |
Genus | Terpsiphone |
Species | Terpsiphone rufiventer |
Conservation Status | |
Least Concern |
The Red-bellied paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer), also known as the black-headed paradise flycatcher, is a species of medium-sized paradise flycatcher in the Monarchidae family.
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 eggs 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.