Riparian birds

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Riparian birds
Victoria Bird of Paradise (Ptiloris victoriae)

Victoria Bird of Paradise ( Ptiloris victoriae )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Corvoidea
Family : Birds of Paradise (Paradisaeidae)
Subfamily : Actual birds of paradise (Paradisaeinae)
Genre : Riparian birds
Scientific name
Ptiloris
Swainson , 1825

The Reifelvögel ( Ptiloris ) are a genus from the family of the Birds of Paradise (Paradisaeidae) and includes four species , two of which, namely the Victoria Bird of Paradise and the Shield Bird of Paradise , unlike all other birds of paradise, are native to Australia . The magnificent bird of paradise occurs in Australia as well as in New Guinea . Only the Papuan bird of paradise is native to New Guinea.

The mature birds live in tropical, subtropical and temperate rainforests, where they feed on fruits and invertebrates . The magnificent, colorful and loud courtship takes place from the raised hide. The males show an elaborate courtship dance in which the wings are opened wide in all species. The females mate with only a few dominant males. The female is solely responsible for building nests and raising young.

All four species are classified as safe by the IUCN. In the case of the reifel birds occurring in Australia, large parts of the range are under protection or are even national parks.

description

Shield bird of paradise, female

Adult riparian birds reach a body length between 21 and 34 centimeters. The smallest Reifel bird is the Victoria bird of paradise with a body length of 21 to 27 centimeters. Mature birds are characterized by a compact build. The neck is slightly elongated, the legs and claws are strong. The wings are short and wide, the tail plumage is short in relation to the body length. There is a pronounced sexual dimorphism in all species .

The females have a gray-brown, olive-brown or reddish-brown upper plumage. The underside is whitish to isabel in color with a teardrop mark or a cross banding. Common to all females is a conspicuous stripe over the eyes. They are very similar to each other and differ mainly in the shape of the spots on the underside of the body. Since the distribution areas of the individual species do not overlap, an unambiguous determination is still possible during field observations.

In contrast to the males, they have black plumage, some of which have a strong metallic sheen or iridescence. What they all have in common is a shiny metallic triangle in the throat to chest area, which stands out clearly from the rest of the dark body plumage. The beak is dark and strongly curved in all species. The males have a dull yellow to bright yellow beak inside, which plays a role in courtship. Some of the feathers on the chest or flanks are elongated and are also used in courtship.

One of the characteristics of the genus is that the males, when flying, use their wings to make a sound that has been compared with the sounds that are made when heavy silk is crumpled.

Species and their respective distribution area

Female of the Victoria Bird of Paradise, Lake Eacham
  • Papuan Paradise Bird ( Ptiloris intercedens ): Occurrence in the eastern third of New Guinea. In the south is the western limit of distribution of the Purari , in the north it occurs as far as the Adelbert Mountains . The altitude distribution ranges from the lowlands to altitudes of 1740 meters.
  • Magnificent bird of paradise ( Ptiloris magnificus ): Occurrence of the nominate form P. m. magnificus in the west and central area of ​​New Guinea. The distribution area extends from the large Vogelkop peninsula in the west of New Guinea to Wewak in the northeast. In southeast New Guinea, this subspecies occurs as far as the Purari River . The subspecies P. m. alberti occurs from Albany Island off the tip of the Cape York Peninsula and on the Cape York Peninsula. There the southern limit of distribution runs approximately at the level of the city of Weipa in the west of the peninsula and the McIlwraith Range in the east of the peninsula. The magnificent bird of paradise inhabits tropical rainforests in the lowlands and foothills in its range. It is also found in gallery forests . The altitude distribution ranges from the lowlands to altitudes of 700 meters. Occasionally it has also been observed at an altitude of 1200 meters.
  • Shield bird of paradise ( Ptiloris paradiseus ): The range of the shield bird of paradise is limited to parts of the Australian Great Dividing Range . an isolated population lives in the area of Kroombit Tops National Park , which is the furthest population of this species found in northern Australia. A contiguous distribution area extends from the height of Amamoor National Park in the southeast of the Australian state of Queensland over the Conondale Range to Barrington-Tops National Park and Mount Royal National Park in the east of the state of New South Wales . It predominantly colonizes subtropical and temperate rainforests, but occasionally also occurs in hard-leaf forests when they border on rainforests. In Hartlaub forests, it can be observed especially in the winter months. It typically only occurs at altitudes above 500 meters, and is very rarely seen in lower regions. It is a resident bird in the entire distribution area .
  • Victoria bird of paradise ( Ptiloris victoriae ): This species occurs exclusively in the northeast of the Australian state of Queensland. The distribution area is limited there to the Atherton Tablelands and extends from Mount Amos in the south to Mount Elliot 30 kilometers south of Townsville . The Paluma Range also belongs to the distribution area . It also colonizes some offshore islands, including Barnard Island , Dunk Island , Goold Island, and Hinchinbrook Island .

food

Ripe birds mainly eat invertebrates, but also fruits and, very rarely, seeds. They find their food mainly in the middle to upper area of ​​tree tops. The long beak is considered an adaptation that makes it easier for them to poke into the cortex and epiphytes . But they also use their strong feet to tear off pieces of bark from tree trunks and look for insects underneath. They are extremely agile birds and climb tree trunks like tree creepers . They also hop from branch to branch while foraging. They usually look for food solitary, only very rarely are they socialized with other birds in fruit-bearing trees. These are mainly fruit pigeons and bower birds .

Reproduction

Male of the Victoria Bird of Paradise courting on a call station
A female (left) of the Victoria Bird of Paradise approaches a courting male

The males of the Reifelvögel are polygyn , that is, they mate with several females. The female builds the nest alone, incubates the clutch on her own and raises the young birds on her own. The males woo the females by shouting from certain fixed call waiting points or dancing goods and when the female approaches they show an elaborate courtship dance.

Life expectancy

Mature birds have a comparatively high life expectancy, but not enough data are available for all species to determine the maximum life expectancy. A fully grown male of the Victoria Bird of Paradise ringed in Yungaburra National Park in October 1988 was recaptured in the same location almost nine years later. Another male who was at least 3 years and 3 months old when he was ringed was killed by a domestic cat 15 years later. Victoria Birds of Paradise can therefore live to be at least 18 years old.

So far, there are only few data available for the life expectancy of the magnificent bird of paradise, as this species is only relatively rarely ringed. However, an adult female ringed in Kutini-Payamu National Park, Australia in 1990 was recaptured 8 years and 11 months after the condition. The life expectancy of magnificent birds of paradise is therefore at least 10 years.

Ripple birds and humans

In the 19th century, the two species, the Victoria bird of paradise and the shield bird of paradise, which occur in more densely populated areas of Australia, were heavily hunted and the bellows were exported to London because the feathers were used in the fashion industry as jewelry for hats.

Conflicts with humans arise mainly in Australia today: Shield and Victoria birds of paradise invade orchards to eat and eat the fruit there. Because of this, farmers in Queensland are still given permission to shoot down shield birds of paradise.

Victoria birds of paradise can become very trusting at feeding stations.

Trivia

The column gardener , a type of bower bird that imitates numerous other bird species with its calls, not only imitates the voice of the Victoria pardies, but also the noise of the wings of the male.

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 .
  • PJ Higgins, JM Peter and SJ Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . Oxford University Press, Melbourne 2006, ISBN 978-0-195-55884-5 .

Web links

Commons : Reifelvögel ( Ptiloris )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Single receipts

  1. ↑ a b Handbook of the Birds of the World zum Prachtparadiesvogell , accessed on April 23, 2017
  2. ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World on the Papuan Bird of Paradise , accessed April 23, 2017
  3. ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World on the Victoria Bird of Paradise , accessed on April 22, 2017
  4. ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 643.
  5. ^ Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 424.
  6. ^ A b c Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 425.
  7. ↑ a b c d Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 635.
  8. ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 644.
  9. ^ A b Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 645.
  10. ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 656.
  11. ^ Higgins, Peter & Cowling: Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds: Volume 7 Boatbill to Starlings, Part A: Boatbill to Larks . P. 647.
  12. ↑ Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . P. 317.