Emperor Bird of Paradise
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| Paradisaea guilielmi Cabanis, 1888 |
The Emperor Bird of Paradise, Paradisaea guilielmi also known as Emperor of Germany's Bird of Paradise is a large, up to 33cm long, yellow and brown bird of paradise with a reddish brown iris, bluish grey bill and purplish brown legs. The male has an extensive dark emerald green face and throat, two very long tail wires and large white ornamental flank plumes. The female is similar to the male, but has an all brown plumage, smaller in size and has no ornamental plumes.
The Emperor Bird of Paradise is endemic to Papua New Guinea. It is found in hill forests of the Huon Peninsula. The diet consists mainly of fruits, figs and arthropods.
The name commemorates the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, Wilhelm II of Germany. On January 1888, the Emperor Bird of Paradise was the last bird of paradise discovered by Carl Hunstein, who also found the Blue Bird of Paradise on his journeys. These two species are the only Paradisaea that perform inverted display.
Due to ongoing habitat loss and exploitation on this restricted range species, the Emperor Bird of Paradise is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Paradisaea guilielmi. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 9 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
