Magnificent Riflebird

Magnificent Riflebird
Magnificent Riflebird
Neville William Cayley's illustration of the immature male, mature male, and female Magnificent Riflebird.
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paradisaeidae
Genus: Ptiloris
Species: P. magnificus
Binomial name
Ptiloris magnificus
Vieillot, 1819

The Magnificent Riflebird, Ptiloris magnificus, is a medium-sized (up to 34 cm long) passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae family. 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.

The Magnificent Riflebird is widely distributed throughout lowland rainforests of New Guinea and far Northeastern Australia. 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.

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.

References

  • BirdLife International (2004). Ptiloris magnificus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 29 October 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

External links