Standardwing
| Standardwing | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paradisaeidae |
| Genus: |
Semioptera Gray, 1859 |
| Species: | S. wallacii |
| Binomial name | |
|
Semioptera wallacii G.R. Gray, 1859 |
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The standardwing (Semioptera wallacii) also known as Wallace’s standardwing, is a species of bird-of-paradise. It is the only member in monotypic genus Semioptera.
George Robert Gray of the British Museum named this species in honor of Alfred Russel Wallace, British naturalist and author of The Malay Archipelago, who in 1858 was the first European to describe the bird.
A common species in its limited habitat range, the standardwing is evaluated as near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its increasingly fragmented habitat. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
The standardwing is medium-sized, approximately 28 cm long, olive-brown. The male has a gloss violet-and-lilac colored 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. Its diet consists mainly of insects, arthropods and fruits.
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.
The standardwing is endemic to North Maluku province in eastern Indonesia and is the westernmost species of the true birds-of-paradise. It can be found on the islands of Halmahera, Bacan, and Morotai.
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Wikipedia