Sao Tome Paradise-Flycatcher
Terpsiphone atrochalybeia
A distinctive long-tailed paradise-flycatcher with different-looking sexes. Male is glossy blue-black with a pale blue bill and blue eye-rings; female has a dark crown, a gray face, rusty upperparts, and pale underparts. Juvenile is like female; young male slowly turns black. A common resident throughout São Tomé in the understory and at middle levels of most habitats. The only other flycatcher within its range is the dull brown Spotted Flycatcher, a scarce migrant. Calls include a rapid electric clicking and buzzing “dzzrt-dzzrt-dzzrt.” The song is a musical repeated “swee dzee-tee che-ree.”
Identification
A distinctive long-tailed paradise-flycatcher with different-looking sexes. Male is glossy blue-black with a pale blue bill and blue eye-rings; female has a dark crown, a gray face, rusty upperparts, and pale underparts. Juvenile is like female; young male slowly turns black. A common resident throughout São Tomé in the understory and at middle levels of most habitats. The only other flycatcher within its range is the dull brown Spotted Flycatcher, a scarce migrant. Calls include a rapid electric clicking and buzzing “dzzrt-dzzrt-dzzrt.” The song is a musical repeated “swee dzee-tee che-ree.”
Taxonomy
Genus: Terpsiphone; Family: Monarchidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Terpsiphone atrochalybeia
- Authority
- (Thomson, 1842)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Genus
- Terpsiphone
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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