About Melaenornis edolioides (Swainson, 1837)
The northern black flycatcher, scientifically named Melaenornis edolioides (Swainson, 1837), reaches 20 centimetres (7.9 in) in length. It is a large, upright, long-tailed flycatcher. Full-grown adult individuals are uniformly black, while juveniles are blackish-brown with buff scaling. This species can be distinguished from two other all-black insectivores—the fork-tailed drongo and the shorter-tailed, red-eyed common square-tailed drongo—by its long square-ended tail.
The northern black flycatcher is an insectivorous species that is a resident breeder in tropical Africa, with a range extending from Senegal to Ethiopia, and south to Zaire and Tanzania. It lives in moist wooded areas and cultivation. It nests in a hole or reuses old nests built by other species, and lays two or three eggs. Its breeding occurs during the wet season.
