Four-colored Bushshrike Telophorus viridis Scientific name definitions

18–19 cm; male 30–40·5 g, female 31–39·5 g. Male nominate race has ­saffron-yellow line across forehead extending back to eye; crown, hindneck and upperparts, including upperwing, dark olive-green, tail blackish; cheek to chin and throat scarlet, enclosed by black band through lores, below eye and narrowly along side of throat, joining broad black gorget across upper breast, gorget bordered below by transverse band of red; belly and flanks bright green, with scarlet-maroon lower edge of red sub-gorget band and irregular scarlet-maroon stripe, often broad, down mid-line to under­tail-coverts, which are brownish-maroon; underwing-coverts and axillaries green; iris dark brown; bill black; legs bluish-grey or slaty brown. Female is duller than male, differs in having lores dusky, little black around side of throat, tail tinged green at base, narrower black gorget (often broken), chin and throat more orange than scarlet (often mottled yellow, sometimes all yellow), middle of belly brown, undertail-coverts orange-brown. Immature is duller green above, most wing feathers having blackish subterminal line, no black or red in plumage, has ill-defined yellowish stripe from bill to eye, yellowish chin and upper throat, yellowish-green breast finely barred, rest of underparts greenish-yellow, greener on flanks, yellower on undertail-coverts. Races differ mainly in coloration: <em>quadricolor</em> is slightly less dark above than nominate, central tail feathers green and grading to blackish distally, broad supercilium yellow, gold or orange and longer (extending a little behind eye), chin and upper throat sometimes more orange-red (less scarlet), red below gorget less deeply toned and often paler (more of a reddish wash), lower breast and belly greenish-yellow (no reddish mid-line), undertail-coverts orange-red; quartus is similar to previous, but brighter above, yellow in underparts tinged brownish; nigricauda also is similar, but central tail feathers blacker, greater area of red in centre of breast below gorget.

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Undergrowth in patches of montane high forest, to 2000 m. In Angola coffee forest and dry forest; in Zambia only Cryptosepalum forest; in Kenya found in Afzelia, brachystegia (Brachystegia) and Cynometra in gallery forest, woodland and thickets. In S Africa occurs in semi-evergreen thickets at edges of lowland and middle-altitude forests, riparian forest, Ficus sycamorus on R Limpopo, tangles of forest creepers, secondary forest with thorny lianas and brambles on drainage lines and hillsides, dune forest and thick undergrowth.

Mainly resident; race quadricolor moves locally from drier parts of range for non-breeding season.

Small arthropods, including hawkmoths (Sphingidae) and other moths (Lepidoptera), caterpillars, beetles (Coleoptera), parasitic wasps (Apocrita), and spiders (Araneae). Forages in low forest undergrowth, tangles, shrubs and rank grass; tends to work its way upwards in trees, gleaning trunks, branches and foliage; hops on ground, turning over leaf litter. Agile, moving silently and quickly in crouched, horizontal posture; peers about and darts at prey. Sometimes hawks insects in air. Usually in pairs; sometimes singly.

Male song loud, far-carrying liquid whistles, 1–3 short "ko", "kok" or "kong" notes followed immediately by 1 or 2 upslurred "kowick" or "kowee" notes; also a slow "ko-ko-whoeee", a more emphatic "ko-koweet-koweet", a less emphatic "ko-koway-koway" and a rapid "kokoweekowee"; song lasts c. 1 second and repeated after 2–5 seconds, may sing c. 20 times per minute for several minutes on end; song often preceded by soft "ti" or "klink" note (audible only at very close range). Female of race quadricolor (but apparently not of nominate) sometimes duets with single or double harsh "zzrrrer-zzrrrer" notes. Contact call a low, guttural "grr-grr-grr"; alarm a louder frog-like or corvid-like rasp; when excited, makes fripping noises with wings.

Season Mar–May in Angola, Apr in Malawi, Oct–Feb in Zimbabwe, Nov–Feb in Mozambique, and Oct–Dec in South Africa. Male advertises territory, of less than 2 ha, by singing from canopy, in upright posture with head held up, scarlet throat feathers expanded to show yellow bases; one individual occupied same territory for 6·5 years; males often counter-sing in unison or antiphonally, perching sometimes less than 1 m apart; singer bows excitedly, jerks body from side to side and flicks wings and tail, and threatens with rapid bill-snapping. In courtship, male bows, sings and bill-snaps in front of female. Nest a rather thin platform or saucer of twigs, roots, stalks and grasses, lined with dry leaf petioles and tendrils (eggs visible from beneath nest), hidden 60–160 cm above ground on woody fork or among twigs or creepers. Clutch 2–3 eggs; incubation mainly by female, sometimes assisted by male; chicks brooded by female, fed by both parents; no information on duration of incubation and nestling periods; fledglings remain with parents for at least four months.

Not globally threatened. Three main populations. Nominate race uncommon to locally common, probably widely under-reported, being secretive in dense thickets, and likely to thrive in those parts of S DRCongo and C & NE Angola where presently unknown. In Gabon recorded only at Leconi, and in PRCongo only at Pointe-Indienne, Diosso and Diosso-Mpinde road; locally common in Angola in Cabinda, Uíge, Malanje and Cuanza Norte S to Huíla; in DRCongo, occurs in W (E to Kwamouth) and recorded in SE in Kasai and Katanga (where doubtless under-reported), also once at Baraka, on L Tanganyika, but absent from Itombwe. Race nigricauda local and uncommon, mainly below 600 m in extreme S Somalia and in coastal Kenya S from Boni Forest and Lamu, inland on lower R Tana, Mt Endau (at 1200 m), Mt Kasigau and Shimba Hills National Park; Kenyan range apparently contracting, as no recent records from former sites in Chyulu, Taita, Sagala Hills and on R Voi, in Tsavo East National Park; in coastal Tanzania S to Mikindani and inland to N Pare Mts (at 1100–2000 m), foothills of Uluguru Mts, Liwale and Rondo Plateau (no recent records from E Usambara foothills). Races quartus uncommon in undeveloped parts of lower Shire valley (S from Lengwe), in Malawi, where rediscovered at Lengwe in 2002 after 18-year lack of records, and 20–30 pairs occupying 9–10 km² of suitable habitat; local and uncommon in E highlands of Zimbabwe (to 1500 m), and apparently frequent in W Mozambique, and widespread and not uncommon S of R Save (especially near coast); quadricolor locally common in NE South Africa in Soutpansberg-Blouberg foothills and N lowveld, and locally common in E KwaZulu-Natal from coast up to 600 m; some evidence that this species was once more widespread in E South Africa, but also may have benefited from bush encroachment resulting from overgrazing there and in Swaziland.