| Red-bellied paradise flycatcher | |
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| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Monarchidae |
| Genus: | Terpsiphone |
| Species: | T. rufiventer |
| Binomial name | |
| Terpsiphone rufiventer (Swainson, 1837) | |
| Subspecies | |
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See text | |
| Synonyms | |
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The red-bellied paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer), also known as the black-headed paradise flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird of the family of monarch flycatchers. It is native to intra-tropical forests of 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.
Taxonomy and systematics
The name "red-bellied paradise flycatcher" is also used as an alternate name for Bedford's paradise flycatcher.
Subspecies
Ten subspecies are recognized:
- T. r. rufiventer - (Swainson, 1837): Found in Senegal, Gambia and western Guinea
- T. r. nigriceps - (Hartlaub, 1855): Originally described as a separate species. Found from Sierra Leone and Guinea to Togo and south-western Benin
- Fagan's paradise-flycatcher (T. r. fagani) - (Bannerman, 1921): Originally described as a separate species. Found in Benin and south-western Nigeria
- Ashy-tailed paradise-flycatcher (T. r. tricolor) - (Fraser, 1843): Originally described as a separate species. Found on Bioko (Gulf of Guinea)
- Cameroon ashy-tailed paradise-flycatcher (T. r. neumanni) - Stresemann, 1924: Found from south-eastern Nigeria to northern Angola
- T. r. schubotzi - (Reichenow, 1911): Originally described as a separate species. Found in south-eastern Cameroon and south-western Central African Republic
- T. r. mayombe - (Chapin, 1932): Found in Congo and western Democratic Republic of Congo
- T. r. somereni - Chapin, 1948: Found in western and southern Uganda
- Uganda black-headed paradise-flycatcher (T. r. emini) - Reichenow, 1893: Originally described as a separate species. Found in south-eastern Uganda, western Kenya and north-western Tanzania
- Fiery paradise-flycatcher (T. r. ignea) - (Reichenow, 1901): Originally described as a separate species. Found in eastern Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, north-eastern Angola and north-western Zambia
Until 2009, the Annobón paradise flycatcher was classified as a subspecies (T. r. smithii) of the Red-bellied paradise flycatcher.
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 zweet call. 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
- BirdLife International (2017). "Terpsiphone rufiventer". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T22731073A118765669. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22731073A118765669.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- "IOC World Bird List 6.3". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.6.3.
- "Species Version 2 « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
- Birds of The Gambia by Barlow, Wacher and Disley, ISBN 1-873403-32-1
| Taxon identifiers | |
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| Terpsiphone rufiventer |
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