Long-tailed Paradigalla
| Long-tailed Paradigalla | ||||||||||||
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Long-tailed Paradigalla |
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| Paradigalla carunculata | ||||||||||||
| Lesson , 1835 |
The long-tailed paradigalla ( Paradigalla carunculata ), also known as the pointed- tailed magpie , is a species of bird from the family of birds of paradise (Paradisaeidae). It occurs only in a small area in western New Guinea. Little is known about the way of life of this species.
The IUCN classifies the population of the long-tailed Paradigalla as near threatened . No subspecies are distinguished.
description
Body type and measurements
The long-tailed paradigalla is a medium-sized to large bird of paradise with conspicuous facial lobes and a long, strongly tiered and pointed tail plumage.
It reaches a body length of up to 37 centimeters, of which between 12.2 and 13.7 centimeters in males and between 11.8 and 13.1 centimeters in females are due to the control springs . The beak has a length of 3.8 to 4.5 centimeters. Weight data are currently only available for a single female who weighed 170 grams. The gender dimorphism is not very noticeable. Females are only slightly smaller and slightly paler and duller in color.
Appearance
The head, neck and the entire top of the body are velvet black. The head plumage shimmers oily blue to greenish. The rest of the upper side of the body has a purple sheen and forms olive-green highlights in certain light conditions. In the area of the front face there are two bright yellow to greenish yellow facial lobes that look like melted plastic. These start at the end of the upper beak. Another sky-blue facial lobe begins at the base of the lower beak.
The hand wings and the outer, shorter control feathers are black-brown with a slightly olive-green sheen on the outer flags. The entire underside of the body is black-brown with a matt copper sheen. The beak is shiny black, the iris dark brown, the legs and feet are blackish.
Distribution area and habitat
The range of the long-tailed Paradigalla is very small and limited to the Arfak Mountains in the northeast of the Vogelkop peninsula . There is another Paradigalla population in the Fakfak Mountains on the Fakfak Peninsula at the western southern end of the island of New Guinea , which was previously assigned to this species. In the meantime, however, it is assumed that this population is a species of the genus Paradigm that has not yet been scientifically described . The long - tailed Paradigalla inhabits mountain rainforests of medium altitude in this distribution area.
Way of life
The long-tailed Paradigalla is one of the very little researched species among the birds of paradise. Clifford Frith and Bruce Beehler even point out that no other bird of paradise species has so few observations from so few regions. It is only known that small, fleshy fruits are part of the diet. So far nothing is known about reproductive biology.
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 .