Four-coloured bushshrike

The gorgeous bushshrike (''Telophorus viridis'') is a species of bird in the family Malaconotidae. It is also known as the four-coloured bushshrike. Some use the name gorgeous bushshrike for the subspecies ''Telophorus viridis viridis'' only.

Taxonomy

Most authorities consider ''Telophorus viridis'' to comprise four subspecies: ''T. v. viridis'', ''T. v. nigricauda'', ''T. v. quartus'' and ''T. v. quadricolor''. Others split the taxon into two species: ''T. viridis'' and ''T. quadricolor''.

Behavior

Gorgeous bush-shrikes are seldom seen despite being a commonly occurring species, as they mostly dwell in densely vegetated woodlands. They are primarily insectivorous, gleaning insects from the understory growth they inhabit.

Distribution

Found in Angola, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and Zambia (''T. v. viridis''), coastal Kenya and Tanzania (''T. v. nigricauda''), Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe (''T. v. quartus'') and South Africa and Swaziland (''T. v. quadricolor'').

Gallery

File:Gorgeous bushshrike, Chlorophoneus viridis, at Ndumo Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (28473099573).jpg, left, Male at Ndumo Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal
File:Bush-Shrike Gorgeous 2015 10 17 9769.jpg, left, Juvenile at Mkhuze Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal

References

External links

* Gorgeous/Four-coloured bushshrike
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Gorgeous bushshrike
Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa
gorgeous bushshrike
Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot

{{Malaconotidae-stub