Indian paradise flycatcher

Appearance

Adult Indian paradise flycatchers are 19–22 cm long. Their heads are glossy black with a black crown and crest, their black bill round and sturdy, their eyes black. Female are rufous on the back with a greyish throat and underparts. Their wings are 86–92 mm long. Young males look very much like females but have a black throat and blue-ringed eyes. As adults they develop up to 24 cm long tail feathers with two central tail feathers growing up to 30 cm long drooping streamers.

Young males are rufous and have short tails. They acquire long tails in their second or third year. Adult males are either predominantly bright rufous above or predominantly white. Some specimens show some degree of intermediacy between rufous and white. Long-tailed rufous birds are generally devoid of shaft streaks on the wing and tail feathers, while in white birds the shaft streaks, and sometimes the edges of the wing and tail feathers are black.

Naming

Linnaeus thought that the Indian paradise flycatcher occurred only in India. Later ornithologists observed it also in other areas and described several subspecies based on differences in plumage of males. Three subspecies are recognized:
⤷  ''T. p. paradisi'' breeds in central and southern India, central Bangladesh and south-western Myanmar; populations occurring in Sri Lanka in the winter season are non-breeding.

⤷  Himalayan paradise flycatcher was initially described as a separate species. It breeds in the western Tian Shan, in Afghanistan, in northern Pakistan, in northwestern and central India, and in western and central Nepal; populations in eastern Pakistan and in southern India migrate towards the foothills of the Himalayas in spring for breeding.

⤷  Ceylon paradise flycatcher occurs in Sri Lanka.

Distribution

The Indian paradise flycatcher is a migratory bird and spends the winter season in tropical Asia. In southern India and Sri Lanka, both locally breeding populations and visiting migrants occur in winter.

Indian paradise flycatchers inhabit thick forests and well-wooded habitats from Central Asia to south-eastern China, Nepal, all over India and Sri Lanka to Myanmar.

Behavior

The Indian paradise flycatcher is a noisy bird uttering sharp ''skreek'' calls. It sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It is insectivorous and hunts in flight in the understorey. In the afternoons, it dives from perches to bathe in small pools of water.

Its breeding season lasts from May to July. Being socially monogamous both male and female take part in nest-building, incubation, brooding and feeding of the young. The incubation period lasts 14 to 16 days and the nestling period 9 to 12 days. Three or four eggs are laid in a neat cup nest made with twigs and spider webs on the end of a low branch. The nest is sometimes built in the vicinity of a breeding pair of drongos, which keep predators away. Chicks hatch in about 21 to 23 days. A case of interspecific feeding has been noted with paradise flycatcher chicks fed by Oriental white-eyes.

Habitat

The Indian paradise flycatcher is a migratory bird and spends the winter season in tropical Asia. In southern India and Sri Lanka, both locally breeding populations and visiting migrants occur in winter.

Indian paradise flycatchers inhabit thick forests and well-wooded habitats from Central Asia to south-eastern China, Nepal, all over India and Sri Lanka to Myanmar.The Indian paradise flycatcher is a noisy bird uttering sharp ''skreek'' calls. It sits very upright whilst perched prominently, like a shrike. It is insectivorous and hunts in flight in the understorey. In the afternoons, it dives from perches to bathe in small pools of water.

Its breeding season lasts from May to July. Being socially monogamous both male and female take part in nest-building, incubation, brooding and feeding of the young. The incubation period lasts 14 to 16 days and the nestling period 9 to 12 days. Three or four eggs are laid in a neat cup nest made with twigs and spider webs on the end of a low branch. The nest is sometimes built in the vicinity of a breeding pair of drongos, which keep predators away. Chicks hatch in about 21 to 23 days. A case of interspecific feeding has been noted with paradise flycatcher chicks fed by Oriental white-eyes.