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Adult male of Asian Paradise Flycatcher has black-blue bright metallic glossed head and throat. Head is with large pointed crest formed by extended feather of same glossy-black color. Back, uppertail and tail are bright-rufous; central tail feathers are much elongated, sometimes in 2-3 times longer than other ones. Flight feathers and greater wing coverts are dark-horn-color with bright-white outer webs, lesser coverts are with rusty outer webs; sometimes horn-color on lesser coverts kept only as narrow strip on feather shaft. Underparts excepting throat are all white, underwings are pale-rusty. Bill is broad, heavy, bluish-horn-color with darker little hook on tip. Legs are bluish-grey, eyes are dark-brownish, eye-ring is blue. In contradiction from male the adult female has slate-grey (not black) cheeks, ear-coverts, throat and upper-neck; breast and fore-belly are with grayish tone; crest is lesser and dimmer than in male; central tail feathers are almost not elongated (only on some old females these feathers are much longer than other ones, but never so long as on males). Greater wing coverts and flight feathers are with rufous outer webs, which made furled wing undistinguished from back in color. Unmoulting juveniles are rufous above, with darker forehead and crown. Crest is lack. Neck and fore-breast are grayish-buff, other underparts are white. After first moulting the black-blue crest becomes; males and females in this age are undistinguished. After second moulting the young male has final plumage, only central tail feathers are slightly elongated. Sizes: male wing 89-100, female wing 88-98, male tail 107-320, female tail 103-135, tarsus 16-18.5 mm. Weight: 18.5-21.8 gr.

Biology

Paradise Flycatcher is common breeding migrant. It inhabits deciduous forests, groves and gardens without undergrowth, near water streams; on migration it visits man-made forests and bush thickets. In spring Paradise Flycatcher arrives singly or in pairs in end April - early May, last migrants recorded in mid-May. Nest is built in tree (walnut, poplar, birch, apple, hawthorn) at 0.5-10 m above ground; nest is from bast strips and cobweb and is lined with thin bast strips. Both parents build it for 6-11 days. Clutches of 3-5 eggs is founded from end of May to end of June. Only female incubates for 12-13 days. Both parents feed juveniles, which fledge at age 13 days old. Repeated breeding after losing of first nest is possible. Autumn migration passes in August - early September, latest birds recorded in end of September.

References

"Птицы Казахстана" том 3. "Наука". Алма-Ата, 1970. Э.И.Гаврилов. "Фауна и распространение птиц Казахстана". Алматы, 1999. Gavrilov E. I., Gavrilov A. E. "The Birds of Kazakhstan". Almaty, 2005.