The rufous paradise flycatcher (''Terpsiphone cinnamomea'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the family

Monarchidae The monarchs or monarch flycatchers (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and Grallina, magpie-larks. Monarchids are small insectivore, insectivorous songbirds with l ...

. It is found in Indonesia and the Philippines. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

Description and taxonomy

EBird eBird is an online database of bird observations providing scientists, researchers and amateur naturalists with real-time data about bird distribution and abundance. Originally restricted to sightings from the Western Hemisphere, the project e ...

describes the bird as " A medium-sized, long-tailed bird of lowland and foothill forest. Overall rufous in color with a blue bill and a blue eye-ring that is broader in males. Races differ. Northern males have especially extended central tail feathers. Female and southern males have a paler belly. Somewhat similar to Cinnamon Ibon, but found at lower elevations, with a longer tail and a blue eye-ring. Gives a repetitive series of upslurred whistled notes or a shorter, nasal grating call, “greet grr-grr,” with the first note upslurred". Alternate names for the rufous paradise flycatcher include the cinnamon paradise flycatcher.

Subspecies

Three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized: * Northern paradise-flycatcher (''T. c. unirufa'') - Salomonsen, 1937: Originally described as a separate species. Found in the northern Philippines * ''T. c. cinnamomea'' - ( Sharpe, 1877): Found in the southern Philippines * Talaud paradise-flycatcher (''T. c. talautensis'') - ( Meyer, AB & Wiglesworth, 1894): Originally described as a separate species. Found on the

Talaud Islands The Talaud Islands Regency () is a Regency (Indonesia), regency of North Sulawesi province, Indonesia. The Talaud Islands form an archipelago situated to the northeast of the Minahasa Peninsula, with a land area of 1,251.02 km2. It had a populati ...

(far northern Indonesia)

Ecology and behavior

Forages in the understory for insects and often joins mixed-species flocks that includ Celestial monarch, Short-crested monarch Blue-headed fantail, Golden-crowned babbler, Lemon-throated leaf warbler, Black-crowned babbler, and other small birds. Breeding season believed to be April to July. Nest is a neat cup made out of plant fibers and then covered with moss and lichens. One nest was discovered to contain 3 eggs but average clutch size is not yet known.

Habitat and conservation status

This species habitat is primary and secondary forest up to 1,200 meters above sea level. IUCN has assessed both the Northern and Southern rufous paradise flycatchers as

least-concern species A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

. It is generally uncommon. While not threatened,

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

in the Philippines continues throughout the country due to slash and burn farming, mining, illegal logging and habitat conversion. It is found in multiple protected areas such as

Pasonanca Natural Park The Pasonanca Natural Park is a List of protected areas of the Philippines, protected area that preserves a major watershed in the southern Philippines, Philippine island of Mindanao in the Zamboanga Peninsula. It contains the headwaters of the ...

, Kalbario–Patapat Natural Park, Samar Island Natural Park but like all areas in the Philippines, protection is lax and deforestation continues despite this protection on paper.

References

rufous paradise flycatcher Birds of Mindanao Endemic birds of the Philippines rufous paradise flycatcher Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Monarchidae-stub