White-eared bowerbird
| White-eared bowerbird | ||||||||||||
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White-eared bowerbird |
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| Ailuroedus buccoides | ||||||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1836) |
The white-eared bower bird ( Ailuroedus buccoides ) is a species from the family of the bower birds (Ptilonorhynchidae) and a representative of the avifauna of New Guinea. Compared to the species occurring in Australia such as the silky arborebird , column gardener or the closely related black-eared bowerbird , this type of bowerbird has been little researched due to its range.
The white-eared bower bird is one of the smaller representatives in the family of bower birds with a body length of up to 25 centimeters. It is one of the species whose courtship behavior does not include the construction of an arbor by the male. They are monogamous and have a relationship of several years. Both sexes defend a territory all year round. There are four subspecies for this species in the large distribution area.
White-eared bowerbirds are very long-lived and take several years to reach sexual maturity.
features
The nominate form of the white-eared bowerbirds reaches a body length of up to 25 centimeters, of which 8.3 to 9.9 centimeters are on the tail of the males. With a body length of up to 24 centimeters, the females almost the same size have a tail plumage with a length between 7.8 and 9.4 centimeters. The beak length is 2.7 to 3.4 centimeters, with females having beaks a maximum of 3.2 centimeters long. The males weigh between 110 and 172 grams, the females between 100 and 152 grams. There is no noticeable gender dimorphism .
White-eared bowerbirds have a red-brown to olive-brown vertex that is overgrown with green. The region under and behind the eye, the lower sides of the head and the throat are predominantly whitish pinnate. The upper neck is reddish-brown with large black feather tips, which form a broad dotted, in some individuals also dashed, band. The wings and the upper tail-coverts are green. The outer webs of secondaries each have a large white spot at the end, the inner webs of secondaries and primaries are each dark brown. On the underside, the wings are yellow-brown, with the underside of the hand wings being darkest. The control springs are dark brown. The front breast is whitish and goes on the lower breast in an isabel-colored to light ocher-colored tone. On the entire underside of the body, the feathers are blackish, creating a dense pattern of dots. The iris is dark red, the beak is gray-whitish, and the legs and feet are blue-gray.
Young birds are similar to adult birds, but have a slightly darker beak.
distribution
The white-eared bowerbird only inhabits the lowlands of New Guinea. It is also found on the islands of Salawati , Yapen , Batanta and Waigeo off the coast of New Guinea . It is missing in the lowlands of the Trans-Fly, where the black-eared bowerbird occurs. Its habitat are tropical rainforests, but it also occurs in monsoon forests . A total of four subspecies are distinguished:
- A. b. buccoides ( Temminck , 1836) - Occurrence in the western part of New Guinea with the islands of Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati to Triton Bay. There are individual differences in the color of the crown and the top of the body. Bruce Beehler points out that the type specimen, on the basis of which Temminck first described the species, was unusually pale feathered. For this reason, Beehler includes the subspecies A. b. cinnamomeus in the nominate form.
- A. b. geislerorum A. B. Meyer , 1891 - Occurrence on the island of Yapen and in the north of New Guinea from Mamberamo to Collingwood Bay.
- A. b. cinnamomeus Mees , 1964 - Found in southern New Guinea. The distribution area extends from the Mimik River to the Fly River . Bruce Beehler argues that the distinction of this subspecies is not justified and includes the representatives of this subspecies in the nominate form . He points out that in the nominate form the populations occurring further west are generally paler and the western populations are darker and, in particular, dark at the rump and therefore the slightly different coloration from the type specimen is not a sufficient characteristic to distinguish a subspecies.
- A. b. stonii Sharpe , 1876 - southeast of New Guinea from the upper reaches of the Purari to the Amazon Bay.
food
The white-eared bowerbird covers its nutritional needs mainly with fruits and invertebrates. Elaeocarpus and pepper tree fruits play a special role in its diet. It looks for its food from the undergrowth to about the middle of the tree. It is rarely seen in the upper canopy of trees. So far there is no evidence that it also eats seeds. The white-eared bower bird also eats other small birds. It is repeatedly caught in three-meter-high Japanese nets that are actually set up for ringing and examination of other bird species, because it tries to eat the birds caught there. Eating nestlings and eggs from other bird species has not yet been directly observed, but it is very likely.
Reproduction
Unlike other bowerbirds, the male black-eared bowerbird does not build arbors. They are monogamous birds, but how long the pair bond exists has not yet been investigated. In the closely related black-eared bower birds , however, a long-term partnership has been proven. It is therefore likely that this also applies to the white-eared bower bird. They defend a territory that is used as feeding and breeding ground. The compatibility with conspecifics outside the breeding season indicates, however, that an area may only be occupied during the breeding season.
White-eared bowerbirds and humans
The long-eared longbird was already kept in Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century, including in the London Zoo . Today a number of zoological gardens show it. It has also been successfully bred in several zoological gardens. Successful breeders are the Weltvogelpark Walsrode , Wilhelmina , the Heidelberg and Krefeld Zoo in Germany, the Chester Zoo in Great Britain, the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Garden , the San Diego Zoo and the Los Angeles Zoo . Important findings on reproductive biology were gained in particular at the Krefeld Zoo.
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, Dawn. W. Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-854844-3 .
- Mike Hansell: Bird nests and construction behavior , illustrated by Raith Overhill, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521017645 .
- Peter Rowland: Bowerbirds . Csiro Publishing, Collingwood 2008, ISBN 978-0-643-09420-8 .
Web links
Single receipts
- ↑ a b c Handbook of the Birds of the World zum Weißohr-Laubenvogell , accessed on April 27, 2017
- ↑ a b Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . P. 231.
- ↑ Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . P. 229.
- ↑ a b Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . P. 228.
- ↑ a b c Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . P. 230.
- ^ A b c Beehler & Pratt: Birds of New Guinea . P. 275.
- ↑ Frith: The Bowerbirds - Ptilonorhynchidae . P. 233.