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Bates's paradise flycatcher

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Bates's paradise flycatcher
preserved specimen
preserved specimen
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Monarchidae
Genus: Terpsiphone
Species:
T. batesi
Binomial name
Terpsiphone batesi
Chapin, 1921
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms
  • Terpsiphone rufocinerea batesi

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

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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

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There are two subspecies recognized:[3]

  • T. b. batesiChapin, 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

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Terpsiphone batesi - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2016-10-24.
  3. ^ "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.