- Diphyllodes magnificus
Cicinnurus magnificus
Identification
19cm (7½ in); male 26cm (10¼ in) with central tail feathers
Male
- Olive-brown, short and stubby upper head and crown feathers, reddish-brown on ear-coverts
- Dark green small loral spot
- Black feathers around eye
- Thin line of pale blue skin behind eye
- Sulphur-yellow cape formed by elongated hindneck feathers
- Brownish back feathers and orange-yellow wings
- Dark brownish-olive tail with two long curved sickle-like blue green central tail feathers
- Brownish-black chin and upper throat
- Glossy dark green underparts with dark green breast shield
- Dark brown eye
- Pale green mouth
- Blue legs
Female
- Drab-coloured olive-brown to reddish-brown upperparts
- Thin line of pale blue skin behind eye
- Pale underparts, uniformly barred dark brown
Juveniles are undescribed, immature males similar to females.
Distribution
New Guinea and surrounding islands.
Widespread and common in its range.
Taxonomy
Formerly together with Wilson's Bird-of-paradise placed in genus Cicinnurus.
Hybrids with King Bird-of-Paradise and Lesser Bird-of-Paradise recorded.
Subspecies
Three subspecies recognized:
- D. m. magnificus on Salawati (West Papuan Islands) and northwest New Guinea (Vogelkop, Wandammen Peninsula and Onin Peninsula)
- D. m. chrysopterus on Yapen Island and west and central New Guinea east to Jimi Range, Sepik-Wahgi Divide and Adelbert Range
- D. m. hunsteini in east and southeast New Guinea from upper Fly River region to Wahgi region and Huon Peninsula
Habitat
Hill forest to lower montane forest, sometimes also lowland forest. Occurs from nearly sea-level to 1780m, mainly to 1400m.
Behaviour
Diet
Feeds on fruits and animals (insects and spiders). Takes probably also flowers or nectar.
Forages usually solitary, adult males join also mixed-species foraging flocks.
Breeding
Breeding season at least from July to December, breeds probably in all months. A polygynous species. The male holds a court on the ground, several square meters in extent. It spends a lot of time on stems of vertical saplings which they defoliate. 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. The nest is made of mosses, dry leaves, weeds and some animal fur. It's placed 1 - 4m above the ground in a pandanus crown. Lays 1 - 2 eggs.
Movements
Presumably a resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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) Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Magnificent_Bird-of-Paradise
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
