Magnificent riflebird
| Magnificent riflebird | |
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| Neville William Cayley's illustration of the immature male, mature male, and female magnificent riflebird. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paradisaeidae |
| Genus: | Ptiloris |
| Species: | P. magnificus |
| Binomial name | |
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Ptiloris magnificus Vieillot, 1819 |
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The magnificent riflebird (Ptiloris magnificus) is a species of passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae family.
The magnificent riflebird is widely distributed throughout lowland rainforests of western New Guinea and the northern Cape York Peninsula.
A widespread and relatively common species throughout its range, the magnificent riflebird is evaluated as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
This species used to be placed in its own genus, Craspedophora Gray, 1840, which is now a subgenus of Ptiloris.
The magnificent riflebird is medium-sized (up to 34 cm long). The male is velvet-black bird-of-paradise with elongated black filamental flank plumes, an iridescent blue-green crown, a wide, triangle-shaped breast shield, and on central tail feathers. It has a black curved bill, yellow mouth, blackish feet and a dark brown iris. The female is brownish with dark spots and buff bars below with a white brow. The immature male resembles the male but with less tail plumes.
The diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods.
Males are polygamous and perform solitary courtship displays on a 'dancing perch'. During these displays, the male fully extends his wings and raises his tail; he hops upward while swinging his head from side to side, showing off his metallic blue-green breast shield. Multiple females will observe these displays, and, if satisfied with the performance, reward the male with copulations. Females subsequently build nests, incubate, brood, and feed young without male assistance.
In addition, the growling riflebird (Ptiloris intercedens) is often considered a subspecies.
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Wikipedia