Standardwing Bird-of-Paradise
Semioptera wallacii
A large, front-heavy brown bird with a long, pale downcurved bill and a distinctive elongated head with a flat crown and a forehead tuft. Orange legs. Unmistakable males have a green-blue breast shield and long creamy-white plumes extending from the shoulders. Females are entirely earth-brown, lacking the shoulder extensions and shield. Immature resembles female. Found in canopy of tall forests in lowlands and foothills, confined to three islands in north Moluccas. Regularly sighted at known display sites. Very loud when displaying, giving raucous “WAA-WAA…” and “KEE-KEE…” notes.
Identification
The standardwing bird-of-paradise is medium-sized, approximately 28 cm long, and olive brown. The male has a gloss violet-and-lilac coloured crown and emerald-green breast shield. Its most striking features are two pairs of long white plumes coming out from the bend of the wing that can be raised or lowered at the bird's will. The unadorned olive-brown female is smaller but has a longer tail than the male.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Semioptera wallacii
- Authority
- Gray, GR, 1859
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paradisaeidae
- Genus
- Semioptera
Range and habitat
The standardwing is endemic to Northern Maluku in eastern Indonesia and is the westernmost species of the true birds-of-paradise. It can be found on the islands of Halmahera and Bacan in lowland tropical rainforests and hills, and occasionally in woodland.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The males are polygamous. They gather and perform a spectacular aerial display, "parachuting" with wings and its vivid green breast shield spread, and the wing "standards" fluttering above its back.<p>Its diet consists mainly of insects, arthropods and fruits.
Conservation
A common species in its limited habitat range, the standardwing bird-of-paradise is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its increasingly fragmented habitat. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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