- Black Sicklebill
Taxobox
name = Black Sicklebill
status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
image_width = 200px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Passeriformes
familia =Paradisaeidae
genus = "Epimachus "
species = "E. fastuosus"
binomial = "Epimachus fastuosus"
binomial_authority = (Hermann, 1783)The Black Sicklebill, "Epimachus fastuosus" is a large
bird of paradise of midmountain forests ofNew Guinea . The male has black plumage with an iridescent green, blue and purple scale-like feathers, red iris, bright yellow mouth, long curved black bill, hugesabre -shaped tail and large erectile fan-like plumes on sides of breast. The female is smaller than the male. It has a reddish brown plumage with brown iris and buff below.With up to 110cm in length, the male Black Sicklebill is the largest of
Paradisaeidae in terms of overall length, though theCurl-crested Manucode has a larger body [Perrins, Christopher, "Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds". Firefly Books. ISBN 1-55297-777-3] . The diet consists mainly of fruits andarthropods . The male ispolygamous and performs a horizontal courtship display with thepectoral plumes raised around its head.In the wild, the bird has hybridised with the
Arfak Astrapia creating offspring that were once considered a distinct species, the Elliot's Sicklebill, "Epimachus ellioti". While some ornithologists still believe that this bird is a distinct species, possibly critically endangered or even extinct, many now think it was indeed a hybrid between the two species.Due to ongoing habitat loss, small population size and hunted in some areas for food and its tail feathers, the Black Sicklebill is classified as Vulnerable on the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II ofCITES .References
* Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is vulnerable
External links
* ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Epimachus_fastuosus/ images of the Black Sicklebill "(Epimachus fastuosus)"]
* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=5816&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=7840 IUCN Red List]
* [http://www.rdb.or.id/detailbird.php?id=274 Red Data Book]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
