Astrapia | |
---|---|
Ribbon-tailed astrapia (Astrapia mayeri) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Paradisaeidae |
Genus: | Astrapia Vieillot, 1816 |
Type species | |
Paradisea nigra Gmelin, JF, 1788 |
Astrapia (Vieillot, 1816) is a genus of birds-of-paradise. The genus contains five species, all endemic to New Guinea. The males have highly iridescent plumage and remarkably long tails. Females are duller and have shorter tails.
Barnes's astrapia is a hybrid produced by the interbreeding of Princess Stephanie's astrapia and the ribbon-tailed astrapia. [1]
The genus Astrapia was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot to accommodate the Arfak astrapia, which therefore becomes the type species. [2] [3] The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek astrapios or astrapaios meaning "of lightning". [4]
The genus is suggested to be monophyletic, roughly six million years old, and forms a sister-group with the two species in the genus Paradigalla . [5] Astrapia and Paradigalla are members of a larger clade that includes the other long-tail birds-of-paradise from the genus Epimachus . [6]
The genus contains five species: [7]
Within the genus, A. nigra and A. splendidissima are sister species, which together are sister to a clade that includes A. rothschildi, A. mayeri and A. stephaniae with A. rothschildi as the basal member. [8]
The five species of the genus Astrapia are endemic to New Guinea in the mountains of Volgelkop, the central ranges and the Huon Peninsula. Of these, three are allopatric—A. nigra, A. splendidissima and A. rothschildi. The other two—A. mayeri and A. stephaniae—overlap with each other at the margins of their respective elevation ranges in a small part of Papua New Guinea's central highlands. [1] [5]
All species within Astrapia exhibit sexual dimorphism. Adult males appear mostly jet-black under most lighting conditions, with highly iridescent greenish-blue heads, an intensely reflective coppery-orange band on the upper breast and either a deep violet (nearly black) or mostly white tail. [6] The three allopatric species also have iridescent green lower abdomen. Adult females are duller blackish-brown, with smaller, white smudged tails running down their lengths. [9]
Breeding behaviors are not well known, but all species are thought to be polygamous, with promiscuous males that use arboreal display sites, and with females providing all parental care. [9] Summaries from species accounts indicate a few simple behaviors including a form of hoping back and forth between branches and an inverted display posture in A. rothschildi. [6] At traditional sites in the forest canopy, Astrapia stephaniae is known to form leks. [6] [10]
There are seven distinct male courtship displays that have been documented: perch-hopping, pivoting, inverted tail-fanning, nape-pecking, post-copulatory tumbling, upright sleeked posturing and branch-sidling. [6] Of the male behaviors, perch-hopping is the most broadly distributed among all species but A. nigra. In all of them, the displaying bird moves quickly between multiple branches by hopping or making short flight-hops. In A. rothschildi, hopping between perches sometimes includes chasing females (or female plumaged individuals). It is unclear if chasing is a component of perch-hopping in the other species. [6]
A type of pivot display is known from two species, A. rothschildi and A. mayeri . In both, it involves repeatedly moving in a ritualized fashion from side-to-side with feet more-or-less in a fixed position. The most distinctive feature of the A. rothschildi pivot is wing flicking, whereas in A. mayeri the most distinctive features are the very ritualized hunchbacked posture and the highly exaggerated swishing movement of the male's long ribbon-like tail. [6]
The Arfak astrapia and the Huon astrapia have a distinctive and specialized display behavior, which is called the inverted tail-fan display. When the abdominal feathers are sky-oriented during the display, their green iridescent feathers (that would appear otherwise dark) become highly visible; the splendid astrapia also has highly iridescent green abdominal plumage, which raises the question about if it too has an undocumented inverted display behavior.
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species, the majority of which are sexually dimorphic. The males of these species tend to have very long, elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail, or head. For the most part, they are confined to dense rainforest habitats. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy.
The bronze parotia, also known as the Foja parotia, Berlepsch's parotia or Berlepsch's six-wired bird-of-paradise, is a species of bird-of-paradise, in the family Paradisaeidae. It resembles and is often considered to be a subspecies of Carola's parotia, but a high majority of authorities support its specific status.
The Arfak astrapia is a species of astrapia, a group of birds found in the birds-of-paradise family Paradiseidae.
The king bird-of-paradise is a passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. It is considered by the IOC checklist to be the only member of the genus Cicinnurus, although the genus Diphyllodes is closely related and is subsumed under Cicinnurus by many other authorities.
The ribbon-tailed astrapia, also known as Shaw Mayer's astrapia, is a species of bird-of-paradise.
The black sicklebill is a large member of the birds of paradise family, Paradisaeidae. This species is found throughout most of central New Guinea and the Vogelkop region to the northwest in montane forests at altitudes from 1,800 to 2,150 m.
Epimachus is a genus of birds-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae) that includes two species, found in the highland forests of New Guinea. They are the largest members of the family. The common name "sicklebill" refers to their long, decurved, sickle-shaped bill.
The magnificent bird-of-paradise is a species of bird-of-paradise. The magnificent bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are listed in Appendix II of CITES.
The greater lophorina, formerly a subspecies of the superb bird-of-paradise, is a species of passerine bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae. It is found in the central and northeast montane regions of New Guinea.
The Huon astrapia, also known as Rothschild's astrapia, Huon bird-of-paradise, or Lord Rothschild's bird-of-paradise, is a species of bird-of-paradise belonging to the genus Astrapia. Like most of its congeners, A. rothschildi is a rather elusive member of its genus and family.
Stephanie's astrapia, also known as Princess Stephanie's astrapia, is a species of bird-of-paradise of the family Paradisaeidae, native to the Bird's Tail Peninsula. This species was first described by Carl Hunstein in 1884.
The Splendid astrapia is a species of Astrapia of the birds-of-paradise family, Paradisaeidae, and one of the least known and most elusive of its family and genus.
The paradise riflebird is a passerine bird of the family Paradisaeidae. It is one of four riflebird species in the genus Ptiloris. It is found in subtropical, temperate rainforests in eastern Australia. The species is sexually dimorphic; the male is black with iridescent blue-green patches, while the female is gray-brown and white.
The magnificent riflebird is a species of passerine bird in the birds-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae.
The satinbirds or cnemophilines, are a family, Cnemophilidae of passerine birds which consists of four species found in the mountain forests of New Guinea. They were originally thought to be part of the birds-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae until genetic research suggested that the birds are not closely related to birds-of-paradise at all and are perhaps closer to berry peckers and longbills (Melanocharitidae). The current evidence suggests that their closest relatives may be the cuckoo-shrikes (Campephagidae).
Barnes's astrapia, also known as Barnes's long-tailed bird-of-paradise or Barnes's long-tail, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae and the genus Astrapia that is a likely hybrid between Stephanie's astrapia and the ribbon-tailed astrapia.
Elliot's bird of paradise is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae, first described by Edward Ward in 1873, but which was later proposed to be a hybrid rather than a “real” species, an identity since confirmed by DNA analysis.
The false-lobed astrapia, also known as the false-lobed long-tail, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae that was proposed by Erwin Stresemann to be an intergeneric hybrid between a long-tailed paradigalla and black sicklebill. Another interpretation that has been put forward is that the only known specimen is an immature Elliot's bird-of-paradise. However, a 2024 DNA study found that it is an F1 hybrid between a long-tailed paradigalla and an Arfak astrapia.
The Central Range sub-alpine grasslands is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion on the island of New Guinea. The ecoregion covers the highest-elevation portions of the New Guinea Highlands, which extend along the spine of the island. The high elevations support rare tropical sub-alpine and alpine habitats, including many endemic plants and animals.