Indian Paradise Flycatcher

Overview

The Indian paradise flycatcher, Terpsiphone paradisi, is a medium-sized passerine bird belonging to the monarch flycatcher family, Monarchidae. It is native to the Indian subcontinent and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List due to its stable global population.

Identification

• Adult males possess elongated central tail feathers and exhibit either black and rufous or white plumage, whereas females are short-tailed with rufous wings and a black head.
• The bird measures between 19 and 22 cm in length, with a glossy black head, a round and sturdy black bill, and black eyes.
• Females feature a rufous back with greyish throat and underparts, while young males resemble females but have a black throat and blue-ringed eyes.

Habitat

This species is found across the Indian subcontinent, including resident and breeding populations in most of Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka, as well as parts of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. It is a migratory bird that typically spends the winter season in tropical Asia.

Diet

Indian paradise flycatchers feed on insects such as grasshoppers, butterflies, praying mantises, and flies. They typically capture prey in the air and kill it by striking it against a rock, often below a densely canopied tree, before extracting the inner parts.

Did you know?

A case of interspecific feeding has been recorded in which paradise flycatcher chicks were raised by Indian white-eyes. Additionally, the bird serves as the state bird of Madhya Pradesh, where it is locally known as Doodhraj.