Rare African Paradise Flycatcher!
My first time to see these magnificent birds!
I was alerted by a strange new bird call sound in the garden and looked through the window to see a beautiful bird sitting on the steel garden chair.
Of course I was out like a flash and followed the couple around!
The locals call them the "rocket" birds, as they catch insects at high speed on the fly and they never sit still.
Reminds me of the similar habits of dragonflies!
"Several species of paradise flycatcher are migratory. The Japanese paradise flycatcher is almost entirely migratory, breeding in Korea and Japan and wintering in the Philippines, Malaysia and Sumatra".
Let's have a look in South Africa!
The male has lovely blue rings around his eyes!
He is a youngster as the male's tail grows to 3 times his body length. They are new arrivals here in South Africa for the summer!
You can see the tail started to grow longer!
"Several subspecies of the African paradise flycatcher are apparently intra-African migrants, but little is known about these movements".
They returned in the late afternoon and I got a few more shots!
This was the last one and then they disappeared!
Finally we have Mr. Squirrel, the local pigeon inspector, having a look here at a Rock pigeon Lol!
Here is more information about the birds!
"The paradise flycatchers are generally small birds, around 18 to 21 cm (7.1–8.3 in) in length and weighing 12 to 23 g (0.42–0.81 oz). They have a medium length grey or blueish bill which is broad and hooked at the end and is surrounded by stiff rictal bristles".
"The inside of the mouths of paradise-flycatchers are brightly coloured, being either yellow or green. The tails are long, particularly in many species where the male has a massively elongated pair of middle tail feathers".
"These tail streamers are 195 mm long in the male São Tomé paradise flycatcher and 412 mm long in the male Indian paradise flycatcher. The function of the long tail is assumed to be related to sexual selection, with females choosing males based on the length of the tail".
"Not all species have long tail streamers, for example the blue paradise flycatcher of Palawan in Asia and the Bedford's paradise flycatcher of Montane, Africa do not have exceptionally long tails. In most species the tail is longer than the wing, even in the shorter tailed females".
"The eye is surrounded by an eyering that is a blue thin wattle (slightly more pronounced in some species like the rufous paradise flycatcher)".
Source of all inverted comma ("") parts;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_flycatcher
We hope that you have enjoyed this amazing find and thank you for visiting a post by @papilloncharity
Team South Africa banner designed by @bearoneThis post is also an entry for #featheredfriends hosted by the lovely Lady @melinda010100
Wow... that's a really beautiful bird 😍
Thank you and glad that you liked the bird!
Blessings!
What a beauty of a bird s=posing so beautifully for you
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Thank you JJ and thanks also for the kind gift!
Blessings!
Most welcome
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Thank you kindly!
Wow! Nice photos from beautiful and exotic birds.
Congratulations for the photos, really nice!
Thank you my friend and glad that you liked the post.
Blessings!
Hello!
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Thank you kindly!
Blessings!
Lovely captures Stephen, and the information was helpful as well.
Great post @papilloncharity
Glad that you liked the post my friend.
Hope all is well with you!
Blessings!
You always have fantastic images cousin Stephen.
One day we'll have to compare family histories to see if we really are cousins 😜
I bet we are, somewhere way back. Although, now that I think of it, my "Smith" ancestry is "Scots Irish" and the Irish name was "Gowan" or 'O'Gowan'
"Gowan" being the Anglisized version of the Gaelic word for smith, as in metal worker.
And now you know far too much trivia about my ancestry ha ha ha ha...
Blessings and Happy Holidays to you as well.
Hahaha, thank you for the ancestry history here cousin Jerry, but I have no idea who my great, great grandfathers partied with.
All that I do know is that I am some sort of breed and that I get along with Europeans better than with South Africans.
Troubled me in the past, but now I am too old to worry about it Lol
Blessings!
Ancestry and genealogy are pretty big with my family, and many of the folks down around here.
For instance, my mother's father told none of his children much at all about who he was or where he was from, hence we have only the names of two siblings, the area where the sister lived, but otherwise we know nothing.
Genetic tests yield dubious results.
We know that he worked on building the original trans Florida RailRoad all the way down to Key West , then he rode the train back as far as SE Georgia, got off in Eldora Ga 1896, married my G mother who was 30+ yrs younger and had 10 children.
We are pretty sure he or his parents fled the Potato Famine.
For all we know, we are descended from a convicted but escaped murderer
Hahaha, your mother might have been married to Papillon himself my friend!
Some similarities here as my wife is 23 years younger than me, but no children Lol
It seems to be a "Smith" thing hahaha
Blessings!
Thank you @cOFF33a and @tattoodjay!
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Thank you for the kind support!
Blessings!
That hairstyle...Does it attract flies? Next level baiting.
Interesting bird. Thanks for showing it :)
Hahaha, I think their barber is a bit of a funky dude my friend!
Glad that you liked the bird!
Blessings!
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