Berlepsch bird of paradise
| Berlepsch bird of paradise | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Parotia berlepschi | ||||||||||||
| Kleinschmidt , 1897 |
The bronze parotia ( Parotia berlepschi ) is a species from the genus of parotia ( Parotia ) within the family of Paradiesvögel (Paradisaeidae).
The species was in 1897 by the German ornithologist Otto Kleinschmidt basis of two male bellows from the collection of Count Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch described . The name of the bird also goes back to Graf von Berlepsch. It occurs exclusively in a remote mountain range in New Guinea and was only rediscovered in 1985.
The population situation of the Berlepsch bird of paradise is classified as safe ( least concern ) by the IUCN . No subspecies are distinguished.
description
The Berlepsch bird of paradise reaches a height of 25 centimeters. It is one of the medium-sized species within the family of birds of paradise. Body measurements are only available for two males. In these, the wings had a length of 15.6 centimeters. The tail plumage was 7.7 inches long and the beak measured 3.3 and 3.6 inches, respectively. There is no weight information. There is a noticeable gender dimorphism .
The male has a blackish head and predominantly blackish body plumage. The nape of the neck, the upper area of the neck and the coat, on the other hand, are iridescent bronze-copper color. A short, erectable feather hood is on the front head between the reins , it has white tips. Behind the eye sit three long, very narrow and spatula-shaped feathers. This headdress can be found on all species of the bird of paradise. The females, on the other hand, are much less conspicuous. They have black-brown plumage on the upper side of the body. On the underside of the body, the plumage is cross-banded brown and white.
The Berlepsch bird of paradise has long been classified as a subspecies of the Carola ray bird of paradise ( Parotia carolae ). The separation as an independent species is due, among other things, to differences in voice and iris color in both males and females.
distribution and habitat
The distribution of the Berlepschparadiesvogel is limited to the west of New Guinea. Its exact distribution in this inaccessible region is unknown. A female specimen was discovered in 1985 by the American scientist Jared Diamond in the Foja Mountains . This mountain range has an area of 9712 square kilometers and is considered to be the largest, as yet undeveloped or explored tropical rainforest in the Asia-Pacific region. The slopes of the mountains are sometimes extremely steep, which makes settlement or commercial wood use difficult in this region. An international expedition, which was brought by helicopter to the Foja Mountains in December 2005 to study the biodiversity there, was able to observe a male Berlepsch bird of paradise for the first time during their stay. Today it is generally assumed that the range of the species is limited to these mountains east of the Mamberamo . The altitude distribution is limited to 1200 to 1600 meters. In this area it occurs exclusively in the interior of the forest.
Way of life
Nothing is known about the way of life of this species: So far, neither the food composition, nor the courtship or the details of reproduction have been observed.
Trivia
The type specimens that Otto Kleinschmidt used to scientifically describe the species for the first time in 1897 have been lost. The brats, which are part of the holdings of the Museum für Naturkunde , Berlin, were probably destroyed during the Second World War . It is therefore difficult to prove that the population discovered by Jared Diamond in 1985 is actually the species that Kleinschmidt described.
literature
- Bruce M. Beehler , Thane K. Pratt: Birds of New Guinea; Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3 .
- Clifford B. Frith, Bruce M. Beehler : The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-854853-2 .
- Jared Mason Diamond: New Distributional Records and Taxa from the Outlying Mountain Ranges of New Guinea . In: Emu . tape 85 , no. 2 , 1985, pp. 65-91 , doi : 10.1071 / MU9850065 .
- Otto Kleinschmidt: Parotia berlepschi . In: Journal for Ornithology (= 5 ). tape 45 , no. 2 , 1897, p. 174–178 ( online [accessed January 18, 2015]).
Web links
- Parotia berlepschi in the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
- xeno-canto: Sound recordings - Bronze Parotia ( Parotia berlepschi )
- BirdLife International New Guinea 'lost world' revealed
Individual evidence
- ↑ Otto Kleinschmidt, p. 178.
- ↑ a b c Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 300.
- ↑ a b Handbook of the Birds of the World on the Berlepschparadiesvogel , accessed on July 21, 2017.
- ^ Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 424.
- ↑ Lost Worlds Of West Papua Reveal More Surprises . Retrieved April 24, 2017.
- ^ Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 423.