Blue-capped Ifrita
Ifrita kowaldi
A medium-sized bird of montane forest. Brown upperparts with dotted edge to the wing, pale buff underparts, blue cap edged with black, black crown spot, long white stripe behind the eye and an eye-ring, broken by a black line at the back. Deliberate movements, scanning carefully for insects. The blue crown and facial markings are unique. Upbeat song “toowa-tee!” reminiscent of a New World spinetail. Interspersed with a dry “wik”.
Identification
The blue-capped ifrit is 16–17 cm (6.3–6.7 in) long and weighs 34-36 g (1.2–1.3 oz). 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. Ifrits tend to have more stout body shapes with broad sternums and shallow keels. Their wings are short and rounded while their legs are booted, having feathers down to their stout and clawed feet. Additionally, blue-capped ifrits have batrachotoxin within their feathers and skin.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ifrita kowaldi
- Authority
- (De Vis, 1890)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ifritidae
- Genus
- Ifrita
Range and habitat
Blue-capped ifrits are endemic to New Guinea and Papua New Guinea, being found nowhere else on earth and having a distribution of 388,000 km2. Ifrits inhabit montane rainforest of New Guinea, living in altitude ranges of 1,000–4,000 meters (3,280–13,123 feet) above sea level. Typically, they are found at altitudes of 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) or above.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
As birds with weak flight abilities, blue-capped ifrits build nests about 1–3 meters (3–10 feet) above the ground in the branches of denser rainforest vegetation. 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. The nest camouflage, toxin excretion, and small clutch sizes may have derived from historically high rates of depredation and nest parasitism.
Conservation
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. Part of their range lies within conservation sites.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Pinto's Spinetail
Synallaxis infuscata
Spinetail with a largely dark body contrasting with a rich rusty crown, wings, and tail. Note the streaked whitish throat. In its tiny range, found in the understory at the edge of remnant humid forest fragments and in adjacent second-growth vegetation. The call is a repetition of “teh-teh-teh” notes.
Yellow-crowned Gonolek
Laniarius barbarus
A striking black-and-crimson bushshrike with a yellow-orange crown. Juvenile is duller, browner above and yellowish underneath. Singles and pairs forage alone or sometimes in mixed-species flocks in moist or dry savanna using dense tangles, where it prefers thicker trunks but will also hop on the open ground; also uses coastal scrub and mangroves. Calls are variable, but mostly comprise loud ringing whistles answered by clicks, electric buzzing, and grating notes in a synchronized duet.
Selva Cacique
Cacicus koepckeae
Rare cacique found very locally in lowland forest in southeastern Peru and extreme SW Brazil, especially near forest-fringed lakes and rivers. Note yellow rump and pale blue eye, which separate it from Solitary Black Cacique. Told from Yellow-rumped Cacique by the yellow being limited to the rump in Selva. No overlap with the closely related Ecuadorian Cacique. It has a varied vocal repertoire, with whistles, metallic squeaks, and various buzzing notes, among other calls.
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