Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher

Terpsiphone mutata

Males trail two ribbon-like tail streamers twice their body length through Madagascar's forest.

Population: Global population not numerically quantified; IUCN/BirdLife describe it as widespread and common across Madagascar, with a suspected declining trend driven by high rat predation on nests in the Comoros
Habitat: Subtropical/tropical dry and moist lowland forest (its primary habitats), plus mangrove forest, savanna, plantations, gardens, and secondary forest; occurs from sea level up to roughly 1,600 m elevation
Fun fact: Males grow elongated black or white central tail streamers that can add up to another 18 cm behind an already 18-cm body, and the species has even been recorded as nestling prey of a wild common brown lemur — one of the very few documented cases of a lemur eating something other than plant matter.
Range: Endemic to the western Indian Ocean: Madagascar, the Comoro Islands (Grande Comore, Anjouan, Mohéli), and Mayotte; estimated extent of occurrence about 928,000 km²
Diet: Insectivorous; gleans and sallies for a variety of flying and foliage insects, commonly foraging by tagging along with mixed-species flocks (e.g., common newtonias) that flush prey for it
Size: 0.18 m

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