Blyth's paradise flycatcher explained

Blyth's paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone affinis), also called the oriental paradise flycatcher, is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae.It is native from southern China to Sumatra and Melanesia. Formerly, it was considered a subspecies of the Asian paradise flycatcher until elevated to species rank by the IOC in 2015.^[1]

Subspecies

Ten subspecies are recognized:^[2]

• T. a. saturatior - (Salomonsen, 1933): Breeds in the eastern parts of Nepal and northeastern India, in eastern Bangladesh and northern Myanmar; populations occurring in Malaysia migrate northward for breeding.^[3]
• T. a. nicobarica - Oates, 1890: Originally described as a separate species. Found on Nicobar Islands
• T. a. burmae - (Salomonsen, 1933): Found in central Myanmar
• T. a. indochinensis - (Salomonsen, 1933): Found in eastern Myanmar and southern China to Indochina
• T. a. affinis - (Blyth, 1846): Found on Malay Peninsula and Sumatra
• T. a. procera - (Richmond, 1903): Originally described as a separate species. Found on Simeulue (off north-western Sumatra)
• T. a. insularis - Salvadori, 1887: Originally described as a separate species. Found on Nias (off north-western Sumatra)
• T. a. borneensis - (Hartert, 1916): Found on Borneo
• T. a. sumbaensis - Meyer, AB, 1894: Originally described as a separate species. Found on Sumba (southern Lesser Sundas)

The Tenggara paradise flycatcher (T. floris), which is found on Sumbawa, Alor, Lembata and Flores (central Lesser Sundas), was formerly considered a subspecies, but has recently been reclassified as a distinct species.^[4]

Further reading

• Andersen . M.J. . Hoster . P.A. . Filardi . C.E. . Moyle . R.G. . 2015 . Phylogeny of the monarch flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly and novel relationships within a major Australo-Pacific radiation . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 67 . 336–347 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.11.010 .
• Fabre . P.H. . Irestedt . M. . Fjeldså . J. . Bristol . R. . Groombridge . J.J. . Irham . M. . Jønsson . K.A. . 2012 . Dynamic colonization exchanges between continents and islands drive diversification in paradise-flycatchers (Terpsiphone, Monarchidae) . Journal of Biogeography . 39 . 1900–1918 . 10.1111/j.1365-2699.2012.02744.x .

Notes and References

1. IOC World Bird List 5.4 . IOC World Bird List Datasets . 10.14344/ioc.ml.5.4. free .
2. IOC World Bird List 6.4. IOC World Bird List Datasets. 10.14344/ioc.ml.6.4. free.
3. Book: Rasmussen, P.C. . Anderton, J.C. . 2005 . Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Vol.2 . Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions . 332–333.
4. Web site: Species Updates – IOC World Bird List. 2021-06-04. en-US.