Bright Paradise Crow
| Bright Paradise Crow | ||||||||||||
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Bright Paradise Crow ( Manucodia ater ) |
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| Manucodia ater | ||||||||||||
| ( Lesson , 1830) |
The gloss Paradise Crow ( Manucodia ater ), and Black Manukode or gloss Manucodia called, is a crowing similar -looking species from the family of birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae). It occurs in New Guinea and the neighboring islands. When observing in the field, it is very difficult to distinguish the Bright Paradise Crow from the Curled Manucodia or the Jobi Paradise Crow . Like other members of its genus, the Bright Paradise Crow is one of the few monogamous species of the birds of paradise. It is also the first bird of paradise that a European, René-Primevère Lesson, observed in the wild.
The IUCN classifies the population of the brilliant paradise crows as safe ( least concern ). There are two subspecies.
description
Body type and measurements
The bright paradise crow is a comparatively large bird of paradise with tiered tail plumage within the genus of the Manukoden. The head is small compared to the body, but the tail is long.
It can reach a length of up to 42 centimeters, of which the male 13.3 to 17 centimeters and the females from 12.7 to 16.6 centimeters of the tail feathers . The beak is 3.4 to 4.5 centimeters long. The males weigh between 170 and 315 grams, the females are slightly lighter at 155 to 252 grams. The sexes differ only slightly. The females are usually slightly smaller than the males and reach a body length between 33 and 37 centimeters. Their plumage has a more metallic greenish than metallic purple sheen.
Appearance
The head, neck and neck are blue-black with a blue-green tinge on the tips of the feathers. The feathers above the eye are noticeably dense, but not very elongated as in the bird of paradise . On the chin and throat the shiny metallic feather tips form an inverted V. The coat, the back, rump, the wing covers and the upper side of the tail plumage are blue-black with a very intense dark blue to purple sheen. Under certain light conditions, the tail plumage can even appear blackish, cross-striped.
The breast plumage is blue-black with a blue-green tinge, which increases in intensity on the belly and the underside of the tail. The arm and hand wings are black-brown to blackish. The beak is black, the legs and feet are also black, the iris is blood red.
Distribution area and habitat
The brilliant paradise crow is found in the lowlands of New Guinea as well as on islands that border New Guinea. The individual subspecies have the following distribution area:
- M. a. ater ( Lesson , 1830) - Mainland New Guinea with a disjoint distribution from the Vogelkop to the Huon Peninsula and the Purari River in the southern half of New Guinea.
- M. a. subalter Rothschild & EJO Hartert , 1929 - Islands bordering the coast of New Guinea in the west (Gebe, Waigeo, Gam, Batanta, Salawati, Misool) as well as the Aru Islands and the southeastern peninsula of New Guinea and the south of New Guinea to the Northeast of the Gulf of Papua
- M. a. alter Rothschild & EJO Hartert , 1903 - Occurrence on Vanatinai , an island of volcanic origin in the southeast of the Louisiade Archipelago , which is southeast of New Guinea. It is possible that M. a. age is so different from the other two subspecies that a species status would be justified.
The habitat of the paradise crows are rainforests, forest edges, monsoon forests, mangroves, savannas and gardens. Bruce Beehler et al. point out that in human-reshaped habitats, the brilliant paradise crow is the most common species of Manukoden .
Way of life and food
The brilliant paradise crow lives solitary or in pairs. It is only occasionally kept in small groups or with other songbird species. The bird species with which it has been observed together include the small bird of paradise , king's bird of paradise , glossy spot drongo ( Dicrurus hottentotus ), gray thick-headed ( Pachycephala simplex ) and ocher breast honeyeater ( Xanthotis flaviventer ). The brilliant paradise crow is a very active bird that rarely stays in one place for longer, but restlessly searches for food in the foliage and branches of trees. The food spectrum has so far been little studied. It eats fruits and insects. However, she has also been seen killing a pearl wing monarch ( Monarcha guttural ) caught in a Japanese net and eating his brain.
Reproduction
The nest is built high up in trees. The nest location is light rainforest, the edge of the forest or the edge area of clearings, but also remnants of forest in savannahs. The brilliant paradise crows also breed in mangroves. The nest is cup-shaped. During construction, parts of creepers are mainly used. Similar to the Curled Manucodia and the Bird of Paradise, the Bright Paradise Crow also builds rotting wood in the base of the nest. The nests have a diameter of 24 to 25 centimeters and are around 14 centimeters high.
There is still little research into reproductive biology. In the only nest observed more closely, the clutch consisted of two eggs. It only brooded the female. However, it is possible that the male reacted more sensitively than the female to the presence of humans in the vicinity of the nest and therefore did not relieve the female in the breeding business. The breeding season is between 14 and 18 days, which is short compared to other birds of paradise. The nestlings are fledged and fed by both parent birds . The nestling time has not yet been investigated, but nestlings are in the nest for at least 19 days.
attitude
Bright paradise crows are not shown in zoological gardens. There are two known private holdings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Around 1935, the New York Zoological Society also kept a brilliant paradise crow.
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 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 212.
- ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World on the Bright Paradise Crow , accessed July 7, 2017
- ↑ Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 211.
- ↑ Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 213.
- ^ Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 421
- ↑ Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 214.
- ^ Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 420
- ↑ Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 215.
- ↑ a b Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 216.
- ↑ Frith & Beehler: The Birds of Paradise - Paradisaeidae . P. 217.
