Lawes's Parotia
Parotia lawesii
A fairly large, short-tailed bird of mid-montane forest canopy. Male is mainly black with a white stripe from the forehead, extending down over the bill, a bronzy-scaled chest and 6 antennalike feathers projecting from the back of the head. Note the blue eyes. The female is warm-brown above with barred underparts and a black head. The male has an elaborate dance at a terrestrial display court. Co-occurs with Carola’s Parotia but male Lawes’s lacks white flanks and female has a darker head. Female lophorinas are smaller and have a pale eyebrow stripe. The vocalizations include various rasps and parrotlike squawks.
Identification
The male is a velvet black bird with an erectile silvery white forehead crest, iridescent purple blue nape and golden green breast plumes which are structurally colored. The breast plumes have V-shaped barbules, creating thin-film microstructures that strongly reflect two different colors, bright blue-green and orange-yellow. When the bird moves the color switches sharply between these two colors, rather than drifting iridescently. During courtship, the male bird systematically makes small movements to attract females, so the structures must have evolved through sexual selection.<p>The inside of its mouth is lime-colored. Adorned with three ornamental spatule head wires from behind of each eye and elongated black flank feathers, that spread skirt-like in courtship display. The female is a brown bird with dark head, yellow iris and dark-barred yellowish brown below. The iris is colored in various amounts of blue and yellow, changing according to the bird's mood.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Parotia lawesii
- Authority
- Ramsay, EP, 1885
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paradisaeidae
- Genus
- Parotia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
West African Pied Hornbill
Lophoceros semifasciatus
A small though long-tailed hornbill that is frequently encountered as it flies singly or in groups over the canopy, between forest gaps, and over road cuts. Distinctive, with a bright white belly and a black head, body, wings, and tail, giving it a bicolored appearance. Similar to Congo Pied Hornbill, but usually separated by range, and the tail has white corners (rather than edges), and the bill is pale yellow with a black (rather than red) tip. Calls are a series of high-pitched whistles: “heu heu heu heu.”
Akiapolaau
Hemignathus wilsoni
A rare Hawaiian honeycreeper of native forests above 5,000 feet elevation on Hawaii Island. Appears bigger-headed and shorter-tailed than other honeycreepers. The long, thin upper bill can be hard to see. The stout lower bill is used to hammer like a woodpecker, making an audible tapping sound. Forages for insects on large branches. Male song is a loud, complex warble. Its “Chu-wee” and “Teedle-oo” calls are lower-pitched and louder than those of other honeycreepers.
Orange-fronted Barbet
Capito squamatus
Chunky black and white bird with a stout bill. Ranges in lowland and foothill rainforest west of the Andes in Ecuador and far southwestern Colombia. Note orange forehead and large white spots on the lower back. Male has white underparts with streaked flanks; female has black throat and breast, and white scaling on the back. Male can be distinguished from Five-colored Barbet by white underparts, crown, and nape. Typically stays high in the canopy, where it joins mixed-species flocks of tanagers and other small birds.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.