Family Monarch-flycatchers (Monarchidae)
Least Concern
Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher (Terpsiphone rufiventer)
Taxonomy
French: Tchitrec à ventre roux German: Senegalparadiesschnäpper Spanish: Monarca ventrirrojo
Other common names:
Black-headed Paradise-Flycatcher
Taxonomy:
Muscipeta rufiventer
Swainson
, 1837,Senegal
.
Subspecies and Distribution
T. r. rufiventer
(Swainson, 1837) – Red-bellied Paradise-flycatcher – Senegal, Gambia and W Guinea.
T. r. nigriceps
(Hartlaub, 1855) – Sierra Leone and Guinea (except W) E to Togo and SW Benin.
T. r. fagani
(Bannerman, 1921) – Benin and SW Nigeria.
T. r. schubotzi
(Reichenow, 1911) – SE Cameroon, SW Central African Republic and NE Congo.
T. r. mayombe
(Chapin, 1932) – S Congo and W DRCongo.
T. r. ignea
(Reichenow, 1901) – SE Central African Republic and DRCongo S to NE Angola and NW Zambia.
T. r. somereni
Chapin, 1948 – W & S Uganda.
T. r. emini
Reichenow, 1893 – SE Uganda, W Kenya and extreme NW Tanzania.
T. r. neumanni
Stresemann, 1924 – SE Nigeria, Cameroon (except SE) and Gabon S to NW Angola (Cabinda).
T. r. tricolor
(Fraser, 1843) – Tricolored Paradise-flycatcher – Bioko.
T. r. smithii
(Fraser, 1843) – Annobon Paradise-flycatcher – Annobón I.
Descriptive notes
Male 18–21 cm (male 30–32 cm including central tail feathers, but variable); 16·5 g. Male nominate race is mainly orange-rufous; head black, glossed steel-blue,... read more
Voice
Song, given by both sexes, is a short, cheerful “twee-twee-twee-twee-twee-twee-twee”; also has a... read more
Habitat
Primary and secondary lowland and montane forest, forest-grassland mosaic, coastal scrub, farmbush... read more
Food and feeding
Mostly insects, especially moths (Lepidoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera), beetles (Coleoptera), bugs (Hemiptera, including cicadids),... read more
Breeding
Season May–Jul in Gambia, Mar, May and Jun in Liberia, Feb–Sept in Ivory Coast, Feb in Togo, Apr, Jul and Nov in Nigeria, Dec... read more
Movements
Resident.
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened. Uncommon to abundant throughout range. Locally common near coast in Gambia, becoming uncommon inland; common from coast to N highlands in Liberia;... read more
Relationships within genus uncertain#R#R. Often considered conspecific with T. bedfordi, but see that species (below). Has hybridized with T. batesi and T. viridis. In one recent study#R, form nigriceps was found to be sister to a clade formed by other races of present species along with T. viridis, T. rufocinerea, T. batesi and T. bedfordi; suggestion that nigriceps may represent a separate species merits further investigation. Race smithii often considered a separate species, but its characters combine those of races neumanni and nigriceps; neumanni and tricolor notably distinctive for their slaty-grey upperparts and tails. Races intergrade. Eleven subspecies recognized.