Japanese Paradise Flycatcher

The Black Paradise Flycatcher, known scientifically as Terpsiphone atrocaudata and colloquially as the Japanese Paradise Flycatcher, is a medium-sized passerine bird. The males of this species are resplendent with glossy black, chestnut, and white plumage and boast exceptionally long tails. Females, while sharing the same color palette, are somewhat duller and have notably shorter tails.

Identification Tips

Mature males can be identified by their black hood with a purplish-blue gloss, transitioning into blackish-grey on the chest, and off-white to white underparts. Their mantle, back, wings, and rump are a plain dark chestnut, and they have strikingly long black central tail feathers. Females resemble males but are duller with darker brown on the chestnut areas. Both sexes have black legs and feet, large black eyes with a blue eye-ring, and a short blue bill.

Habitat

The Black Paradise Flycatcher breeds in the unique Gotjawal Forest of Jeju-do, South Korea, a forest formed on volcanic AA Lava, which provides an important breeding site for this species.

Distribution

This migratory bird breeds in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the far north of the Philippines. During the non-breeding season, it migrates to a range of locations including China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, other parts of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Sumatra in Indonesia.

Behaviour

The Black Paradise Flycatcher is a migratory species, showcasing a steep decline in parts of its Japanese breeding population, which is presumed to be due to forest loss and degradation within its winter range.

Song & Calls

The bird's song is a distinctive tsuki-hi-hoshi, hoi-hoi-hoi, which in Japanese translates to "Moon-Sun-Stars," reflecting the bird's Japanese name, サンコウチョウ (三光鳥) sankōchō, meaning "bird of three lights."

Conservation status

The IUCN Red List has classified the Black Paradise Flycatcher as Near Threatened, indicating that it faces threats that could lead to its vulnerability in the near future.