Blue-capped ifrit | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Superfamily: | Corvoidea |
Family: | Ifritidae Schodde & Christidis, 2014 |
Genus: | Ifrita Rothschild, 1898 |
Species: | I. kowaldi |
Binomial name | |
Ifrita kowaldi (De Vis, 1890) | |
The blue-capped ifrit (Ifrita kowaldi), also known as the blue-capped ifrita, is a small and insectivorous passerine species currently placed in the monotypic family, Ifritidae. [2] [3] Previously, the ifrit has been placed in a plethora of families including Cinclosomatidae or Monarchidae. [2] Blue-capped ifrits are considered an ancient relict species endemic to New Guinea. This corvoid species originally dates back to the Oligocene epoch, on a series of proto-Papuan islands, with minimal known evolutionary divergences. [4]
The blue-capped ifrit is 16–17 cm (6.5–6.5 in) long and weighs 34–36 g (1.2–1.3 oz). [5] Species plumage is yellowish brown with a blue-black crown atop their broad head. It is a sexually dimorphic species, with ear streak coloration being white in males and more tawny yellow in females. [2] Ifrits tend to have more stout body shapes with broad sternums and shallow keels. [2] Their wings are short and rounded while their legs are booted, having feathers down to their stout and clawed feet. [2] Additionally, blue-capped ifrits have batrachotoxin within their feathers and skin. [6]
Blue-capped ifrits are endemic to Western New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, being found nowhere else on earth and having a distribution of 388,000 km2. [7] Ifrits inhabit montane rainforest of New Guinea, living in altitude ranges of 1,000–4,000 meters (3,300–13,100 feet) above sea level. [2] Typically, they are found at altitudes of 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) or above. [3]
As birds with weak flight abilities, blue-capped ifrits build nests about 1–3 meters (3.3–9.8 feet) above the ground in the branches of denser rainforest vegetation. [2] These nests are made of plant fibers with some feathers. The parents tend to camouflage the outside of the nest with moss and liverworts. Ifrits lay small clutches with a typical nest containing only a single offspring. [3] The nest camouflage, toxin excretion, and small clutch sizes may have derived from historically high rates of depredation and nest parasitism. [8]
Blue-capped ifrits are among a small group of avian species that are poisonous, the others being the little shrikethrush ( Colluricincla ), and several members of the former genus Pitohui, also from New Guinea. Ifrits excrete batrachotoxin into their feathers and skin in order to defend themselves against predators. [8] Generally, batrachotoxin binds and permanently opens the sodium channels in nerve cells and can cause paralysis. [9] The accumulation of toxins varies in individuals based on the region they are found in and this could be due to the availability of beetles in the genus Choresine , which are speculated to be the dietary source of the toxin itself. [10]
Ifrits are of least concern because they have a large range. Ifrits seem to have a stable population and are thought to have quite a large population size. [5] Part of their range lies within conservation sites. [11]