Terpsiphone viridis
Certainly one of our prettiest small birds, the shy African Paradise Flycatcher is distributed widely over sub-Saharan Africa where they inhabit a variety of woodland habitats and well-planted gardens and parks in city suburbs, being particularly common in evergreen forests and denser woodland types such as is found along rivers and large streams. They feed mainly on tiny flying insects, or invertebrates (including spiders) gleaned from leaves and twigs, and occasionally berries.
Without their streaming tail feathers, adult males of this species measure around 17cm in length – double that if you include the tail – and weigh about 14g.
Pairs of the African Paradise Flycatchers are monogamous and they may even mate for life. They breed in summer, with both sexes working on the construction of the tiny cup-shaped nests using spider web and a variety of other fine natural materials. Clutches of 2 or 3 eggs are incubated by both parents and hatch after just two weeks. The chicks leave the nest at about two weeks of age, and the parents care for the newly fledged chicks for another week or so after that.
In South Africa, Paradise Flycatchers can be found in all our provinces with the exception of the arid Northern Cape. Here they exhibit distinct seasonal movements, trekking to the lower lying coastal areas and lowveld during the harsh winter on the higher lying areas. The IUCN considers the African Paradise Flycatcher to be of least concern.
DeWetsWild 
Pretty indeed! Love the eye makeup! 😉
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Must take hours every morning! 😀
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Such beautiful birds, and their nests too are so exquisite. Lovely photos too!
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Thanks, Carol! They really are beautiful, and such a treat to find a nest so easy to photograph!
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What a beautiful little bird.
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They really deserve their name I think!
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Such a pretty little thing!
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They certainly are!
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Oh marvelous handsome bird!! I’m glad Papa Bird helps out with chick-rearing 🙂 😀
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He’s very diligent about doing his part!
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😀 😀
We have “Japanese paradise flycatchers” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_paradise_flycatcher) in some areas of the country. Don’t they look very similar? 🙂 I hope to see these birds…someday.
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The Japanese Paradise Flycatcher’s family resemblance is very striking!
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A suitable name for such a pretty bird 🙂
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We agree entirely, Joanne!
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What a beauty!
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Most definitely, Kathy!
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Een van my gunsteling voëltjies! Jou foto’s is pragtig, Dries! Veral die een heelbo, waar die mannetjie op die nes sit…dis waar hy hoort!😉😉
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Dankie, Dina! Hy is nogal die toonbeeld van n moderne, betrokke, pa! 😀
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😂😂
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Well done on your collection of fine photographs. I find the Paradise Flycatchers in my garden flit about so quickly that they are impossible to ‘capture’.
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Thanks very much for the kind words, Anne!
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!!!
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Wow, what a beautiful blue and then there’s that tail! Quite a beauty with what seems a very tiny nest.
janet
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Something as beautiful as this must come from “paradise”!
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🙂
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Beautiful bird! That long tail must have some useful purpose.
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Seeing as only males have the exceptionally long tail it probably has a role to play in courtship, Hien. Seeing them fly with those streamers flowing behind is quite a sight!
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The birds are beautiful and the nests are adorable! they could not fit more than 2-3 eggs at a time in there, I guess. Another lovely!
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Taking “tiny house living” to the extreme!
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Funny how the nest looks almost too small for this bird! The tail sticks out like feet falling off of a twin sized bed.
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I wish I could’ve seen the chicks – they must be so tiny when they hatch, and that little nest will probably soon be quite crowded as they grow!
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