Papuan bird of paradise
| Papuan bird of paradise | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lophorina intercedens | ||||||||||||
| ( Sharpe , 1882) |
The Papua bird of paradise ( Lophorina intercedens , Syn. : Ptiloris intercedens ), also Adelbert Paradiesvogel called, is a kind of the genus of Lophorina within the family of Paradiesvögel (Paradisaeidae). It occurs exclusively in eastern New Guinea. The species is very similar to the magnificent bird of paradise , but differs from it by a feathered beak base, shorter feathers on the sides of the body and a different song.
The species is classified as not endangered ( least concern ) by the IUCN . No subspecies are distinguished.
features
The Papuan bird of paradise is a medium-sized bird of paradise with a body length of 28 to 34 centimeters. Adult males reach an average body length of 34 centimeters and weigh between 155 and 214 grams. Females stay a little smaller and weigh between 102 and 149 grams.
The tail plumage is between 9.6 and 10.6 centimeters in the male and between 9.2 and 10.5 centimeters in the females. The wings are short and round. They have a length of 18.8 to 19.9 centimeters for the males and a length of 14.5 to 16.2 centimeters for the females. In both sexes, the strongly built beak is slightly bent downwards, but in the females the curvature is somewhat more pronounced. It has a length of 5.2 to 6.2 inches in the males and 4.5 to 5.1 inches. Compared to the very similar magnificent bird of paradise , the beak is 4 millimeters shorter. There is a pronounced gender dimorphism . The tail plumage is short in both sexes compared to body size.
male
The male has a black upper plumage, from which a metallic greenish to blue-greenish shiny cap stands out. It extends from the middle of the forehead over the crown to the nape of the neck. The rest of the head, the neck and the top of the body shimmer slightly purple when exposed to certain light. Unlike the magnificent bird of paradise, the base on the upper beak is feathered.
The tail plumage has a metallic green to bluish-green sheen on the upper side, the feather edges and the tip of the tail shimmer metallic black. A large, roughly triangular, metallic blue-green shimmering spot extends from the center of the chin to the front chest. The feathers are elongated on the sides of the throat and are set up during courtship. A narrow black band runs down the middle of the chest, this is bordered at the bottom by a yellow-green shimmering band. The belly, the rump and the flanks are chestnut brown in the nominate form. The feathers on the lower flanks are elongated, but unlike the magnificent bird of paradise, they are no longer than the tip of the tail. The under tail cover is glossy black.
The beak is black and slightly shorter than that of the females. The beak angle is yellow and is always noticeable. The inside of the beak is pale yellow to greenish yellow, which can be clearly seen in calling birds. The iris is black-brown.
female
In the female, the dark olive-brown head cap extends from the forehead to the back of the neck. It has short isabel-colored lines. The cap is delimited on each side of the head by a long, narrow and whitish stripe over the eyes. A narrow, predominantly cream-colored orbital ring surrounds the eye and forms a small light spot above and below the eye. A narrow dark brown stripe begins at the base of the beak, runs over the eye and the ear covers and ends at the nape of the neck. This stripe is bordered by a whitish broad stripe of beard and a narrow black-brown stripe of beard. The chin and throat are creamy white to isabel in color. The lower region of the throat is spotted dark brown. The top of the body and the tail are olive-colored, the upper tail-coverts also have cinnamon-brown feather trims. The tail plumage is reddish-brown on the upper side.
The underside of the body is cream-white to isabel-colored with a thick black-brown transverse banding that widens towards the abdomen. The tail is olive brown on the underside.
The beak is black to gray-black. The iris is black-brown as in the male.
Distribution area
The Papuan bird of paradise occurs in a comparatively small area in New Guinea. Its distribution area is limited to the east and southeast of the island. The western limit of distribution is the Ramu River and Astrolabe Bay in the northeast and the Purari River in the south. From there the distribution area extends to the tip of the southeastern peninsula.
Way of life
The Papuan bird of paradise has long been described as a subspecies of the magnificent bird of paradise. There is therefore little literature that specifically deals with this bird of paradise, which is now classified as a species. The way of life, however, should correspond to that of the magnificent bird of paradise. However, like the large numbers of Birds of Paradise , the males of the Papuan Bird of Paradise are certainly polygynous , that is, they mate with multiple females. The female builds the nest alone, incubates the clutch on her own and raises the young birds on her own.
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 .