Alternative names: Waigeo Bird-of-paradise; Bare-headed Little King Bird-of-paradise
- Cicinnurus respublica
Diphyllodes respublica
Identification
16cm (male 21cm with central tail feathers). A very distinctive species.
Male
- Blue exposed skin on mostly unfeathered crown and nape with black criss-crossing lines
- Velvety black tuft above bill base
- Brilliant semicircular yellow cape on mantle
- Crimson red rest of mantle, bordered by broad black line
- Crimson and dark-brownish wings
- Blackish-brown tail with two long curved sickle-like violet-purple central tail feathers
- Velvety black chin and throat with coppery-bronze to purple gloss
- Large oily and glossy emerald-green breast shield, extending to belly
- Sepia-brown remaining underparts
- Dark brown eye
- Blackish bill
- Bright yellow to green mouth
- Blue-grey legs
Female
- Darker bare skin on head
- Drab olive-brown to reddish-brown upperparts
- Longer tail without elongated central tail feathers
- Buff underparts, finely and uniformely barred brown-black
Juveniles are undescribed, immature males are similar to females.
Distribution
Endemic to the islands of Waigeo and Batanta, off northwest New Guinea.
A poorly known restricted-range species. Still reported as moderately common in parts of its range, but much of habitat lost or threatened by agriculture, logging and mining activities.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.
Sometimes together with Magnificent Bird-of-paradise placed in genus Diphyllodes.
Habitat
Hill and to a lesser extend lowland and middle montane rainforests. Occurs from hills at 300m to about 1000m.
Behaviour
Feeds on fruits and arthropods.
Birds in breeding condition found from May to June and in October. A polygynous species. The male holds a court on the ground, usually in dense forest. It keeps the ground clean of litter and removes leaves from saplings on the court. The display includes several static postures, a dance and a progression of movement of the nuchal cape, the breast shield and the central rectrices.
The female builds and attends the nest alone.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 December 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Wilson%27s_Bird-of-Paradise
