Black paradise flycatcher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Black paradise flycatcher |
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| Genus: |
Terpsiphone
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| Species: |
atrocaudata
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The black paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone atrocaudata) is a beautiful bird found in parts of Asia. It's also known as the Japanese paradise flycatcher. This medium-sized passerine bird has shiny black, chestnut, and white feathers. It looks a bit like other paradise flycatchers but is slightly smaller.
One of the most amazing things about the male black paradise flycatcher is its super long tail! Females are usually not as brightly colored and have shorter tails. These birds are migratory, which means they travel long distances. They breed in countries like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the northern Philippines. When it's not breeding season, they fly to places like China, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia for the winter.
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Meet the Black Paradise Flycatcher
This bird is quite unique! It's related to drongos, which are birds mostly found in Australia and tropical southern Asia. The black paradise flycatcher used to be grouped with Old World flycatchers, but scientists now place it in a different family.
Different Kinds of Black Paradise Flycatchers
There are a few slightly different types, or subspecies, of the black paradise flycatcher:
- T. a. atrocaudata: This type breeds in central and southern Korea and Japan. It spends its winters in Southeast Asia, from the Philippines to Sumatra. You might see it traveling through places like China, Taiwan, and Vietnam during spring and fall.
- T. a. illex: This subspecies is smaller and darker. It lives on the Ryukyu Islands and usually stays there all year.
- T. a. periophthalmica: This one is similar to illex, but the male has a bit of a purplish back. It's found on Orchid Island near Taiwan and Batan Island in the northern Philippines.
What Does It Look Like?
The black paradise flycatcher is easy to spot, especially the male! It's a bit smaller than some of its relatives.
- Males: Grown-up males have a shiny black head with a purplish-blue glow. This color fades into a grayish-black on their chest. Their belly is off-white or white. Their back, wings, and rump are a plain dark chestnut color. The most striking feature is their tail, which has extremely long black feathers in the middle! Younger males have shorter tails.
- Females: Females look similar to males but are not as colorful. Their chestnut areas are a duller, darker brown.
Both males and females have black legs and feet. They have a large black eye with a pretty blue ring around it, and a short blue beak.
The Bird's Special Song
The black paradise flycatcher has a very famous song in Japan! People describe its song as tsuki-hi-hoshi, hoi-hoi-hoi. This means Moon-Sun-Stars. Because of this song, the bird is called サンコウチョウ (sankōchō) in Japanese, which literally means "bird of three lights" (moon, sun, and stars).
Where Do They Live?
These birds need specific places to live and raise their young. In Jeju-do in South Korea, a special forest called Gotjawal Forest is a very important breeding spot for them. This forest grew on rocky areas made of volcanic lava.
Sadly, recent studies have shown that the number of black paradise flycatchers breeding in Japan has gone down a lot. This is probably because their winter homes are losing forests or the forests are becoming unhealthy. Protecting these forests is very important to help these beautiful birds survive.
Images for kids
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T. a. periophthalmica
