King of Saxony bird-of-paradise | |
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Male in Papua New Guinea | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Paradisaeidae |
Genus: | Pteridophora A.B. Meyer, 1894 |
Species: | P. alberti |
Binomial name | |
Pteridophora alberti Meyer, 1894 | |
Subspecies | |
P. a. alberti |
The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise (Pteridophora alberti) 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.
Adolf Bernard Meyer of the Dresden Museum described this species in the December 1894 bulletin of the British Ornithologist's Club. [2] Both the common name "King of Saxony" and the scientific specific name "alberti" were given to honour to the then king of Saxony, Albert of Saxony, whose wife gave her name to the Queen Carola's parotia.
The adult King of Saxony bird-of-paradise is approximately 22 cm long. The male is black and yellow with a dark brown iris, brownish-grey legs, a black bill with a bright aqua-green gape, and two remarkably long (up to 50 cm) scalloped, enamel-blue brow-plumes that can be independently erected at the bird's will. [3] The unadorned female is greyish brown with barred underparts.
The male's ornamental head plumes are so bizarre that, when the first specimen was brought to Europe, it was thought to be a fake.
The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise inhabits the montane forests of New Guinea, and is distributed from the Weyland Mountains in Western New Guinea to the Kratke Range and Mount Giluwe in Papua New Guinea between 1,300–2,850 meters above mean sea level, but usually between 1,800–2,500 meters above sea level.
Moulted head-plumes in good condition are sought by male Archbold's bowerbirds for use as decorations, and in turn collected from the courtship bowers by humans. Males are also hunted for their highly prized long plumes used by natives for ceremonial decoration, but despite this the species remains fairly common in parts of its range. It is considered to be of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
Adult males are territorial. The male guards its territory from perches placed in the tops of tall trees, and from these perches sings to compete with males in neighbouring territories. While singing, the male moves his occipital plumes about. In 1996 David Attenborough filmed the first ever footage of the mating ritual of the bird.
The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and arthropods.
The King of Saxony Bird of Paradise's mating courtship behavior consists of a combination of vocalizations and physical maneuvers, enhanced by its magnificent and unique plumage. The King of Saxony's occipital feathers or “head wires” are one of a kind as they no longer possess their regular feather structure, but instead are eye-catching ornaments that possess no functionality. [4] These feathers can be twice as long as the body of the male King of Saxony, and have evolved as the result of female selection, in which females select males based upon indirect genetic benefits which increase offspring fitness. [5] This process occurs due to male's lack of participation in the process of raising offspring, forcing females to assess male fitness through courtship rituals, details of which are below. [5]
The male King of Saxony will perch on the forest canopy in exploded leks and sing to attract females. [6] These exploded leks place males much further apart than a traditional lek but still in a single relative location, allowing females to move from male to male to choose the right mate with relative ease. [7] The songs sung by the males are reminiscent of "radio-static hisses", can last from four to five seconds, and have been selected for over time based upon their ability to attract females. [8] Songs are repeated at one minute intervals until a female arrives. [8] Male King of Saxony dance maneuvers initiate once a female is in his vicinity and usually use the movement of their unique occipital plumes, flaring them up and down as a tantalizing eye-catcher to pique female interest. [4] These enormous feathers are the key component in the visual presentation of males. [4] Once females are enticed, males will bounce their mantle cape and breast shield feathers up and down. [9] If the female likes what she sees, she will invite the males to the understory of the forest where the courtship continues. [9] Here, the male perches on a vine, connected to, but below the female and proceeds to rhythmically bounce up and down, which in turn, causes her vine to vibrate. [9] If she continues to be interested in the male, he will hop up next to her, erecting his mantle cape and breast shield and wagging his head from side to side to get his head wires to swirl about the female. [9] These behaviors are most common between July and February, but can occur at other times of the year as well. [6]
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.
Wilson's bird-of-paradise is a species of passerine bird of the family Paradisaeidae.
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 blue bird-of-paradise is a large species of bird-of-paradise. It is the only species in the genus Paradisornis, but was previously included in the genus Paradisaea.
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.
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.
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.
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 in Appendix II of CITES.
The greater lophorina, also known as superb bird-of-paradise or greater superb bird-of-paradise, is a species of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. It was considered the sole species in the genus until in 2017 it was recognised that there were three species.
The greater bird-of-paradise is a bird-of-paradise in the genus Paradisaea.
Carola's parotia, also known as Queen Carola's six-wired bird-of-paradise or Queen Carola's parotia, is a species of bird-of-paradise.
The western or Arfak parotia is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm long, bird-of-paradise with a medium-length tail.
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.
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise, also known as Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae.
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 genus Ptiloris consists of four allopatric species of birds in the family Paradisaeidae. These birds of paradise are commonly known as riflebirds, so named for the likeness of their black velvety plumage to the uniform of the Rifle Brigade. Alternatively, the bird's cry is similar to a rifle being fired and hitting its target but a call like this is not commonly reported. They are distributed in the rainforests of New Guinea and Eastern Australia.
Archbold's bowerbird is a medium-sized, dark grey songbird with brown iris, grey feet and black bill. It can grow up to 37 cm (15 in) long. The male has narrow black scalloping with some trace of golden yellow crown feathers and dark grey forked tail, that shorter than the wing. Both sexes are similar. The female is smaller than male, with yellow patch on wings and has no crown feathering.
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