Terpsiphone corvina
The Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher, affectionately known as 'Veuve' (meaning 'widow' in Creole) due to the male's striking black plumage and long, flowing tail streamers resembling a mourning veil, is an exquisite passerine bird endemic to the Seychelles islands. Males are entirely glossy black, measuring around 20 cm in body length, but their spectacular tail plumes can extend up to an additional 30 cm, making them instantly recognizable. Both sexes share a distinctive bright blue wattle and...
This species primarily inhabits native broadleaf lowland forests, favoring mature stands of Takamaka and Badamier trees, often near damp areas or freshwater sources, typically at elevations below 100 meters.
Their diet consists almost exclusively of small flying insects such as flies, moths, beetles, and lacewings, which they primarily capture through aerial hawking or gleaning from vegetation.
Seychelles Paradise Flycatchers are diurnal, spending their days actively foraging and defending their territories, roosting quietly in dense canopy foliage at night. They are aerial insectivores, employing a classic 'sally-and-snap' foraging technique, darting from a concealed perch to snatch in...
The Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher is an iconic endemic species found exclusively within the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Historically, its range included several islands, such as Praslin, Félicité, and Marianne, but by the mid-20th century, its distribution contracted almost entir...
Near Threatened
- The local Creole name for the Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher is 'Veuve,' meaning 'widow,' inspired by the male's long, flowing black tail resembling a mourning veil. - At one point in the 1970s, its population was estimated to be as low as 50-70 individuals, making it one of the world's rarest ...