Terpsiphone paradisi (Linnaeus, 1758)

Inhabitants of thick forests and well-wooded habitats, the males have elongated central tail feathers, and in some populations a black and rufous plumage while others have white plumage. Females are short tailed and rufous.

This is one of our most beautiful birds, and the adult male is both striking and umnistakeable. It has a silvery white plumage, metallic black head and crest, and two long, white, narrow ‘streamers’ extending from the tail. Its wing and tail feathers have black edges. The female has chestnut upperparts and tail, grey underparts, black head and crest, but lacks the tail streamers and has a smaller crest than the male. The juvenile male has the distinct long tail, but the chestnut plumage of the female. The breeding male displays by raising its tail with the streamers arching gracefully. It is found in forests, woodland, as well as gardens and shady groves, and can be found in the Forest park and the adjacent Amnagiri children’s park. It is usually seen alone or in pairs, often flying inside dense undergrowth hunting for insects. The male can be seen chasing flies and insects in agile twist and turns, with the tail streamers trailing and looping behind. It has a preference for larger moths. Its call is a harsh, grating, che or che-che, and the song is a series of yodeling whistles.

A large unmistakable bird with long ribbon-like tail feathers and a black crest. Males are either white or rufous. The female is also rufous but has a short tail. Found in forests and well-wooded areas.

T. p. paradisi (Linnaeus, 1758) T. p. leucogaster (Swainson, 1838) T. p. affinis (Blyth, 1846) T. p. incei (Gould, 1852) T. p. insularis (Salvadori, 1887) T. p. nicobarica (Oates, 1890) T. p. sumbaensis (Meyer, 1894) T. p. floris (Büttikofer, 1894) T. p. procera (Richmond, 1903) T. p. ceylonensis (Zarudny & Harms, 1912) T. p. borneensis (Hartert, 1916) T. p. saturatior (Salomonsen, 1933) T. p. burmae (Salomonsen, 1933) T. p. indochinensis (Salomonsen, 1933)

The season ranges between February and July. The nest is built in the crotch or elbow of a twig usually from 6 to 12 feet above the ground. It is a compactly woven cup of fine grasses and fibres, plastered on the outside with cobwebs and spiders' egg cases. The normal clutch consists of three to five eggs, pale creamy-pink in ground colour, speckled and blotched with reddish-brown. Both sexes partake in building, incubation and care of the young, though the hen does the lion's share of the work. Incubation takes 15-1C) days and the young leave the nest about 12 days after hatching. 58

That of the Bulbul, excluding the tail ' ribbons ' which are between 10 and 15 inches long.

Adult male silvery white with two longribbon-like feathers or streamers in tail, and metallic blackcrested head. Female and young male chestnut above, greyish-white below—in general effect suggestive of a bulbul. The young male has chestnut streamers in the tail ; the female is without.

Has a harsh `which ´ call, and a cheerful whistled song which can be heard from the end of winter till late summer.

This delightful creature—variously known as Rocket Bird, Widow Bird or Ribbon Bird- -is a frequenter of shady groves and gardens, often in the neighbourhood of human habitations, and of light deciduous jungle with bamboo-clad nullahs. Pairs are usually met with, either by themselves or in the mixed hunting parties of small birds in forest. The lithe, fairy-like movements of the male as, with streamers trailing behind, he makes short aerial sallies and contortions after winged insects or flits in graceful undulating flight from one tree to another, present a fascinating spectacle. The notes commonly heard are a harsh and grating che or che-chwe, but during the breeding season these are supplemented by a number of pleasant musical ones uttered by both sexes. Their diet is entirely insectivorous consisting chiefly of flies and moths. These are captured on the wing in the manner typical of the flycatchers.

Frequents in shady groves and gardens, often about human habitations and light deciduous jungle with bambo- clad ravines. Plains and up to 2000m above msl in the Himalayas and peninsular hills.

Singly or pairs in wooded country.

IUCN Redlist Status: Least Concern

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1