NL·0541Herbarium of the Nature Library
- Name
- Terpsiphone paradisi
- Family
- Monarchidae
- Native to
- Breeds from Turkestan and Afghanistan through northern Pakistan, the Himalaya and India to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; northern birds winter in southern India and Sri Lanka
- Habitat
- Woodland, Riverine forest, Gardens
On eBird ↗
Indian Paradise-Flycatcher
Live sightings near you, the range map, bar charts of when it is seen, and Macaulay Library photos and recordings.
Indian paradise flycatcher
Terpsiphone paradisi
Also calledDoodhraj (Hindi; 'milk king') · Shah bulbul (Urdu/Hindi) · Dudhraj (Bengali) · Asian paradise flycatcher
A small flycatcher whose adult male trails two ribbon-like tail feathers several times its body length, in either rufous or white with a glossy black crested head. Watching one float through a shady grove is among the classic sights of the South Asian monsoon.
The Indian paradise flycatcher is a medium-sized passerine bird in the monarch flycatcher family, Monarchidae. As the global population is considered stable, it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 2004. It is native to the Indian subcontinent, with resident and breeding populations in most of Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, as well as parts of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Wikipedia
What it can do
- iMale grows tail streamers that can add more than 20 cm to a body of about 20 cm
- iiCatches insects in agile aerial sallies beneath the canopy
- iiiMales exist in two colour morphs, rufous and white
In the field
Field marks
- aGlossy black head with short crest and blue eye-ring in both sexes
- bAdult male: very long central tail streamers, either chestnut-rufous or white
- cFemale and young male: rufous back and tail, grey breast, no streamers
- dSmall blue-grey bill
- Voice
- A harsh, grating 'chè' or 'chwè' call; a short, warbling song in the breeding season
- Not to be confused with
- Amur paradise flycatcher (passage in NE India, SE Asia) has a darker grey throat and less contrasting hood; Blyth's paradise flycatcher (NE India to SE Asia) is very similar; the long tail separates males from all other South Asian flycatchers.
- Where to see it
- Margalla Hills National Park near Islamabad and the Murree foothills in summer; Corbett, Pench and Kanha in India; widespread in Sri Lanka in winter
- When
- Summer visitor to Pakistan and northern India (Apr–Sep); resident or winter visitor in the south
Listen
Looking for field recordings…
Life & habits
- Diet
- Flying insects: flies, moths, butterflies, beetles
- Habitat
- Shady deciduous woodland, groves, orchards and wooded gardens, often near water
- Size
- Body about 19–22 cm; male's streamers add up to about 24 cm
Both parents share incubation, including the long-tailed male, whose streamers hang over the side of the small cup nest.
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Native range
Breeds from Turkestan and Afghanistan through northern Pakistan, the Himalaya and India to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; northern birds winter in southern India and Sri Lanka
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
No plate in the Source Library names this exact species, so these show its closest relatives as the old naturalists drew them: same genus, or the same kind of animal. Click a plate to read the page it came from, with translation.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Terpsiphone paradisi in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
Marginalia
It is the state bird of Madhya Pradesh, and the Urdu name shah bulbul ('king bulbul') reflects its regal tail.
Curiosity
Young males start out rufous like females, and some white males turn white only after several moults.
Kinship
Photographs: iNaturalist contributors under the licences shown. Records: GBIF.org. Historical plates: Source Library (CC BY-SA 4.0; originals public domain). Summary text: Nature Library editors and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Medicinal and edibility notes are historical and educational, not advice. iNaturalist taxon 549464.