Madagascar Paradise Flycatcher
Perhaps the gaudiest bird in the forest is the Madagascar paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone mutata), endemic to Madagascar and the Comoros, which may be seen nesting in Oct and Nov. There are two main colorations for the male (with several grades between), in one (the white morph) the chest and belly are white while the back and most of the tail are black, the two long tail feathers are white, in the other (the rufous morph) the chest, belly, back and most of the tail are red (usually the two long feathers are white, but sometimes they are red). In both the head is black with an ultramarine ring around each eye, the wings are black with a white bar. The the long tail feathers may be three times as long as the rest of the tale. The female is almost entirely red with a black cap and no eyering. Immature males look similar to the females (but have an eye-ring). Males may breed before achieving adult coloration. Both sexes help build the nest and both incubate the eggs. Both sexes may cheat on their partners.
male fly catcher on nest (Berenty)
Male flycatcher, white morph (Berenty)
male flycatcher, rufous morph (Berenty)
immature male flycatcher (Berenty)
Fledgling (RNP)
The call of the flycatcher (January, RNP)
A male flycatcher display to an immature male
6.4Mb.
Two male flycatchers fighting/displaying
7.4Mb.
A flycatcher feeding (probably)
2.0Mb.
Langrand, Olivier; 1990: Guide to the Birds of Madagascar, Yale University Press
Sinclair, I & Langrand, O.; 1998: Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands, Struik