Huon Astrapia
Astrapia rothschildi
A long-tailed bird of montane forest on the Huon Peninsular. Male has longer tail with iridescent green belly and black chest. Female is blackish with indistinct barring on the belly. In its display, the male hangs upside down with tail spread. Wahnes’s Parotia male is also black and long-tailed, but Huon Astrapia is longer and more slender. Voice, excited, pulsing rasps. Male has audible wing beats in flight.
Identification
This little-known astrapia is a medium-sized bird-of-paradise species, excluding the tail. The males reach up to around 69 cm (27 in) long and weigh up to 205g, including the tail, while the smaller female is around 47 cm (18.5 in) long and weighs slightly less at 200g. The males' head to the breast are black with a velvety-blue iridescence, bordered by a characteristic iridescent, coppery-orange gorget-band; the hindneck is an elongated erectile cape with iridescent blue-green plate-like feathers, tipped pinkish-violet (cape may appear fully violet in some views.); upperparts, including wings, are black with a slight bronze-green sheen, underparts are a deep oily green, with larger, scale-like feathers down the sides a shiny lime-green; the impressively long tail feathers are purplish-black with a bluish sheen. The less-impressive females are mainly a dull brownish black, with slight, narrow pale barring ventrally; the upperparts are a lighter brown compared to the blackish head; and the tail is greatly shorter than the males' and generally similar in color, though drabbier and browner. It takes around 5–6 years to reach full adult plumage, like its congeners.<p>The vocalizations of the Huon astrapia are vaguely known, though its calls are described as a rough "jj jj jj"; However, when adult males take flight, their wings produce a "shek" noise akin to a sprinkler, like other members of the genus. Otherwise, they are generally silent and shy.
Taxonomy
Genus: Astrapia; Family: Paradisaeidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Astrapia rothschildi
- Authority
- Förster, JFN, 1906
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Paradisaeidae
- Genus
- Astrapia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
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