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Birds of Wildcliff Nature Reserve
Dedicated to
plant and wildlife conservation in South Africa's Cape Floral Kingdom
 African Paradise
Flycatcher (Terspiphone viridis)
Description. 17 to
20cm in length (additional 18cm tail in breeding male). Both
sexes have a black head and breast; black breast fades to grayish-white
on belly. Chestnut wings, back and tail; blue bill and eye-ring
are all diagnostic. Male loses long tail in the non-breeding season.
Female has a shorter tail and bill and eye-ring are duller than male;
juveniles are duller than female. At
right,
an adult male.
Call. Song is a loud
“twee-tiddly-te-te.” Territorial song of male can vary between
individuals and especially geographically. Call a simple
“zeet-zwayt.” Alarm call, “zwayt,” shorter, higher pitched and
raspier than call note.
Habitat. Coastal,
riverine, evergreen forests and bush; suburban gardens. Inter-African
migrant.
Behavior. Found
solitary or in pairs. Usually quite vocal. Foraging
consistent with other flycatchers; hawking insects while sallying from
perch, sometimes while hovering; moving constantly through the foliage
gleaning insects while on the move.
Diet. Majority
of diet is insects but will also take spiders and small berries.
Predators. Falcons
and cats will take adult birds; many animals such as rodents, snakes,
small mammals and other birds will take eggs and nestlings.
Reproduction.
Monogamous and territorial, usually a new partner each breeding season.
Male courts female with aerial displays and, while perched, gives
displays that that emphasize plumage, especially long tail feathers.
Nest a shallow cup that is neat, well formed and tightly woven. Both
male and female engage in nest building; constructed of vegetable
fibers, small pieces of bark, dried leaves, vines, tendrils and fine
rootlets. Bound and covered on the outside with spider silk and often
decorated with lichens. In South Africa nest is built mostly of
green moss that grows on trees found in kloofs. Clutch size ranges from
1-5 eggs; both sexes incubate with incubation taking from 12-15
days. Nestling period usually lasts 10-12 days and rarely up to
16 days. Both sexes feed nestlings. Young are dependant on adults for
at least a week after fledging.
On Wildcliff. Seen
in the vicinity of Talari meadow.
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Female
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Links & References
- Wildcliff
Bird
List
- Birding
Resources Page
- Erard, C.,
Terpsiphone viridis. In: Fry, C.H., Keith S. and Urban K., Eds.
The Birds of Africa. Vol. 5. London: Academic Press, 2000. Pp. 531-537.
- Sinclair, Ian, Phil
Hockey and Warwick Tarboton. Birds of Southern Africa. 3rd ed.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002.
Thanks to Conan Guard
for this page.
Based on sightings in
the immediate area, as many as 160
bird species may be seen at Wildcliff. If
you are interested in conducting an ornithological survey or study at
Wildcliff, please complete the Application Form on the research page.
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