Bates's paradise flycatcher
| Bates's paradise flycatcher | |
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| preserved specimen | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Monarchidae |
| Genus: | Terpsiphone |
| Species: | T. batesi
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| Binomial name | |
| Terpsiphone batesi Chapin, 1921
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| Subspecies | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Bates's paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone batesi) is a passerine bird belonging to the monarch-flycatcher family, Monarchidae. The sexes are similar in appearance with the upper parts being rufous and the head and underparts being bluish-grey. It is native to central Africa where it is found in the understorey of forests.
Taxonomy and systematics
[edit]Its name commemorates the American ornithologist George Latimer Bates. Bates's paradise flycatcher was formerly considered as a subspecies of the rufous-vented paradise flycatcher but is now recognized as a separate species.[2] An alternate name is the Cameroon rufous-vented paradise-flycatcher.
Subspecies
[edit]There are two subspecies recognized:[3]
- T. b. batesi – Chapin, 1921: Found from southern Cameroon and Gabon to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
- Bannerman's paradise-flycatcher (T. b. bannermani) – Chapin, 1948: Formerly considered by some authorities as a separate species. Found in Congo, southwestern Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Angola
Description
[edit]Bates's paradise flycatcher is usually 18 centimetres long but males in parts of Cameroon and Angola have elongated central tail-feathers making them 23-28 centimetres long. The head and underparts are blue-grey while the upperparts are rufous. The sexes are similar in coloration. The song is a series of ringing "tswee" notes.
The rufous-vented paradise flycatcher is similar in appearance but has a darker head with a crest and males always have elongated central tail-feathers.
Distribution
[edit]It inhabits the understorey of forests. It occurs from Cameroon and the south-western Central African Republic through Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and much of the Democratic Republic of the Congo south as far as north-west Angola.
References
[edit]- ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Terpsiphone batesi". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016. IUCN: e.T103716224A104092727. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103716224A104092727.en.
- ^ "Terpsiphone batesi - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
- ^ "IOC World Bird List 6.4". IOC World Bird List Datasets. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4.
- Beolens, Bo & Watkins, Michael (2003) Whose Bird?: Men and women commemorated in the common names of birds, Christopher Helm, London.
- Sinclair, Ian & Ryan, Peter (2003) Birds of Africa south of the Sahara, Struik, Cape Town.