Brown sicklebill | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Paradisaeidae |
Genus: | Epimachus |
Species: | E. meyeri |
Binomial name | |
Epimachus meyeri | |
The brown sicklebill (Epimachus meyeri) is a species of bird-of-paradise that is found in the mountain forests of New Guinea.
Its appearance resembles the closely related and larger black sicklebill. In areas where these two large sicklebills met, the brown sicklebill replaced the latter species in higher altitudes. Its diet consists mainly of fruits, arthropods and small animals. The male has a staccato, burst-like call which resembles a burst of automatic gunfire. [2]
The brown sicklebill is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
A female specimen of the brown sicklebill was collected in New Guinea by the German collector Carl Hunstein in 1884. This specimen was formally described in 1886 by the German naturalists Otto Finsch and Adolf Bernhard Meyer under the current binomial name Epimachus meyeri. [3] The genus name is from the Ancient Greek επιμαχος (epimakhos) meaning "equipped for battle" (from makhomai meaning "to fight"). The specific epithet meyeri is named after Meyer, one of the authors of the description. [4] Although several subspecies have been described, [5] these are no longer recognised and the brown sicklebill is considered to be monotypic. [6]
The brown sicklebill is large, up to 96 cm long, dark blue and green with highly iridescent plumages, a sickle-shaped bill, pale blue iris and brown underparts. The male is adorned with ornamental plumes on the sides of its rear and a huge sabre-shaped central tail feathers that are highly prized by natives. The female is a reddish-brown bird with buff barred black below.
Adolf Bernhard Meyer was a German anthropologist, ornithologist, entomologist, and herpetologist. He served for nearly thirty years as director of the Königlich Zoologisches und Anthropologisch-Ethnographisches Museum in Dresden. He worked on comparative anatomy and appreciated the ideas of evolution, and influenced many German scientists by translating into German the 1858 papers by Darwin and Wallace which first proposed evolution by natural selection. Influenced by the writings of Wallace with whom he interacted, he travelled to Southeast Asia, and collected specimens and recorded his observations from the region.
The blue bird-of-paradise is a beautiful, relatively large species of bird-of-paradise. It is the only species in the genus Paradisornis, but was previously included in the genus Paradisaea.
The Arfak astrapia is a species of astrapia, a group of birds found in the birds-of-paradise family Paradiseidae.
The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise is a bird in the bird-of-paradise family (Paradisaeidae). It is the only member of the genus Pteridophora. It is endemic to montane forest in New Guinea.
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 1800 to 2150 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.
Carl Hunstein was a German ornithologist and plant collector.
The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm (13 in) long, velvet black and yellow bird-of-paradise. The male has a red iris, long black bill and rich yellow plumes along his flanks. From the rear of these plumes emerge twelve blackish, wire-like filaments, which bend back near their bases to sweep forward over the bird's hindquarters. The female is a brown bird with black-barred buffy underparts. Their feet are strong, large-clawed and pink in color.
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 on Appendix II of CITES.
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.
The pale-billed sicklebill is a species of sicklebill that belongs to the family Paradisaeidae, which contains the birds-of-paradise.
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 magnificent riflebird is a species of passerine bird in the birds-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae.
The curl-crested manucode is a species of bird-of-paradise.
Elliot's bird of paradise is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae, first described by Edward Ward in 1873. The bird is presumed by some ornithologists to be an intergeneric hybrid between a black sicklebill and Arfak astrapia. This assumption was made by the German ornithologist Erwin Stresemann who had also dismissed other new species of birds of paradise as hybrids. Other ornithologists dispute this claim. Errol Fuller argues that the Astrapia is a fanciful choice made with little supporting evidence, and that Elliot's Bird of Paradise is much smaller than the two proposed parent species. The specimens show a number of characteristics not present in either parent species, adding weight to the possibility of the specimens constituting a unique species. Stresemann had previously used the A. nigra x E. fastuosus explanation for the astrapian sicklebill as well.
Wilhelmina's bird-of-paradise, also known as Wilhelmina's riflebird, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae that is presumed to be an intergeneric hybrid between a greater lophorina and magnificent bird-of-paradise.
Mount Shungol is an ultra-prominent summit to the west of Lae, in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. It is in the Herzog Mountain Range and has an elevation of 2,752 metres (9,029 ft). The Buang people claim ownership to the top of Mount Shungol.