Birds of Singapore
by the Bird Society of Singapore
Terpsiphone affinis
Family: Monarch Flycatchers, Paradise Flycatchers, and Shrikebills · Status: Uncommon migrant and rare visitor · Size: 20–22 cm · Conservation: Least Concern
Ranges from southern China and mainland Southeast Asia to the Indonesian archipelago; northern populations winter to the Malay Peninsula, Singapore and parts of Indonesia.
Female and first-winter birds show bright rufous-chestnut upperparts and tail; head, throat and breast slaty-grey with black crested crown. Grey hind-collar prominent in indochinensis, usually incomplete in affinis. Adult male tail streamers extend to 27 cm or more, rarely seen in Singapore. Adult males occur in white and brown morphs; white birds with glossy black head cannot be conclusively separated from Amur Paradise Flycatcher.
Wooded habitats: broadleaved evergreen forest, secondary growth, mangroves, parks, gardens and offshore islands.
Feeds on insects taken in sallies from a perch or snatched as they flush; usually forages high in the canopy.