Black sicklebill

Black sicklebill
	A male displaying
	female
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Paradisaeidae
Genus:	Epimachus
Species:	E. fastosus
Binomial name
	Epimachus fastosus; (Hermann, 1783)

Last updated October 27, 2024

The black sicklebill (Epimachus fastosus) 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 (5,900 to 7,100 ft).

Etymology

The species' scientific name is Epimachus fastosus. Epimachus, its generic name, means "equipped for battle", referring to this genus' machine gun-sounding calls. Its specific name, fastosus, means "proud". For its subspecies, atratus means "black", ultimus means "final" (probably referring to this subspecies as the last one discovered for this species), and stresemanni honors the German naturalist, Erwin Stresemann.

Description

As the second-longest bird of paradise species (behind the ribbon-tailed astrapia), the black sicklebill measures about 110 cm (43 in) in length if the tail is included, and around 24 in (61 cm) without the tail. The female is around 21 in (53 cm) in length. The black sicklebill is a very bizarre species of bird of paradise. The male has a black head with a long, silver, slightly downcurved bill (not as downcurved as Drepanornis sicklebills), a bright yellow mouth, and scarlet-red eyes which are surrounded by iridescent scaly feathers of typically blue-greenish color that cover most of the front of the face. The rest of the head, including the neck, is jet black. The back is jet black, but is mostly covered with iridescent scale-like feathers with metallic blue color, but can be concluded as greenish-blue in some lights. His wings are black with a less conspicuous bluish iridescence. The greatly exaggerated tail is jet black with a more visible blue iridescence, more notable at the center. On its underside, he has very soft, almost silky brownish-black plumage that ends in relatively elongated flank plumes that extend slightly past the tail, but these plumes are more pronounced in the brown sicklebill. Typically hidden when perched, the males' most splendid ornaments are two glorious pectoral fans on each side of the breast. These large feathers are almost entirely black, but an outstanding feature is that each feather is intricately tipped and iridescent blue-greenish. These fans are used in their courtship displays when they bring them up over their head to form an overall comet shape edged with a stroking narrow, blue line. The female, however, is generically unimpressive. She is an olive-light brown above with more of an orange-brown crown. She is creamy on the belly, which is covered with black barring. She still has a long tail, but not nearly as long as her male counterpart. She differs from the female brown sicklebill by her brown eyes vs. the white eyes of the latter species. The tail is a dull olive. Both sexes have grey-blackish legs and feet.

Call

Long-tailed sicklebills have very un-birdly calls. The male of this species produces a powerful, far-carrying, bubbling "kwit-it kwit-it", a characteristic sound in its range. The true unusual call is found in the brown sicklebill (see that species). Listen to the call here.

Hybridisation

In the wild, the bird has hybridised with Arfak astrapia to create offspring that were once considered two distinct species, Elliot's sicklebill (Epimachus ellioti) and the astrapian sicklebill (Astrapimachus astrapioides). Both species are generally viewed by most mainstream ornithologists as hybrids, but a minority of ornithologists believe ellioti may be a valid species. There have also been records of hybrids with the long-tailed paradigalla (Paradigalla carunculata), superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba), and perhaps the crescent-caped lophorina (Lophorina niedda).

Ecology and behaviour

Feeding

Black sicklebills, like many of their relatives, are primarily omnivorous, feeding on fruits, insects, and other animal prey. Unlike most mostly frugivorous cousins, it tends to feed on both items at an equal proportion. It typically feeds solitarily, but mixed foraging flocks are not abnormal.

Courtship and breeding

Male black sicklebills display anywhere from September to October and February to April. Like nearly all members in Paradisaeidae, they are polygynous, mating with several females in a single season. The male chooses a pole-like, upstanding branch for his display. He may practice for days on end; once he's ready to display, he advertises with his loud call to attract a female. When a female lands on his pole, he fluffs up his pectoral fans to make a comet shape, leaning and bending horizontally. After his intro, he rises upward and perpendicular to the ground and repeatedly rubs the rachides of his flight feathers together to make woodpecker-like beating sounds, all while slowly orbiting around the female's inquisitive face. Once she's been impressed, the two birds copulate. The female tends to all parental duties; she builds the nest and cares for the eggs and chicks. However, as custom with the family, very little is known about the actual breeding process of this species.

Subspecies and taxonomy

The Black sicklebill has been classified as Promerops fastuosus, and was first thought to be a species of sugarbird (from the family Promeropidae ) upon discovery; of course, this was proved false and it now sits in the family Paradiseidae. The "long-tailed" sicklebills are actually not closely related to the "short-tailed" birds of the same genus, Drepanornis; they in fact belong to a clade that includes the Paradigalla and Astrapia . Of course, its closest relative is the brown sicklebill (Epimachus meyeri). The black sicklebill has three subspecies:

Epimachus fastosus atratus- the disputed subspecies stresemanni is synonymized with atratus.
Epimachus fastosus fastosus
Epimachus fastosus ultimus

Status and conservation

With a population estimated at around 2,000-10,000 individual birds, the habitat Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size, and hunting in some areas for food and its tail feathers, the black sicklebill is declining in a relatively relevant portion of its distribution. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species^[1] and is listed in Appendix II of CITES.

Related Research Articles

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.

Astrapia 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.

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.

Lophorina is a genus of birds in the birds-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae that are endemic to New Guinea, formerly containing a single species, but as of 2017, containing three species.

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 brown sicklebill is a species of bird-of-paradise that is found in the mountain forests 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.

Drepanornis is a genus of bird-of-paradise found in forests of New Guinea. They have long decurved sickle-like bills and an overall brown plumage.

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 pale-billed sicklebill is a species of sicklebill that belongs to the family Paradisaeidae, which contains the birds-of-paradise.

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 black-billed sicklebill, also known as the buff-tailed sicklebill, is a species of bird-of-paradise. It, along with its congener, are the only members of the genus Drepanornis.

The growling riflebird, also known as the eastern riflebird, is a medium-sized passerine bird of the 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 Vogelkop lophorina, formerly part of the superb bird-of-paradise complex, is a species of passerine bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae. It is found in montane northwest New Guinea.

References

1 2 BirdLife International (2017). "Epimachus fastosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22706151A118228172. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22706151A118228172.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.

Frith, C. & Frith, D. (2019). Black Sicklebill (Epimachus fastosus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60653 on 23 October 2019).

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[iucn-1] 1 2 BirdLife International (2017). "Epimachus fastosus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22706151A118228172. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22706151A118228172.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.

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