Elliot's bird of paradise

Elliot's bird of paradise

Illustration by John Gould
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Paradisaeidae
Species:	Epimachus f. fastuosus x Astrapia nigra
Synonyms
Epimachus ellioti Ward, 1873

Elliot's bird of paradise is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae that is presumed to be an intergeneric hybrid between a black sicklebill and Arfak astrapia. This assumption was made by Erwin Stresemann who had also dismissed other new species of birds of paradise as hybrids. A minority of ornithologists dispute this claim; specimens are considerably smaller than the latter two species. Additionally, Stresemann used the A. nigra x E. fastuosus explanation for the astrapian sicklebill as well. It was first described by Edward Ward in 1873.

History

Illustration by J. Wolf and J. Smith

Only two adult male specimens are known of this bird, held in the British Natural History Museum and the Dresden Natural History Museum, and presumably deriving from the Vogelkop Peninsula of north-western New Guinea.^[1]

Notes

↑ Frith & Beehler (1998), pp.508-509.

References

Frith, Clifford B.; & Beehler, Bruce M. (1998). The Birds of Paradise. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-854853-9.

Birds-of-paradise (family: Paradisaeidae)

Genera and species

Genus	Species

Lycocorax	Paradise-crow

Manucodia	Glossy-mantled manucode Jobi manucode Crinkle-collared manucode Curl-crested manucode Trumpet manucode

Paradigalla	Long-tailed paradigalla Short-tailed paradigalla

Astrapia	Arfak astrapia Splendid astrapia Ribbon-tailed astrapia Princess Stephanie's astrapia Huon astrapia

Parotia	Western parotia Queen Carola's parotia Bronze parotia Lawes's parotia Eastern parotia Wahnes's parotia

Pteridophora	King of Saxony bird-of-paradise

Lophorina	Superb bird-of-paradise

Ptiloris	Magnificent riflebird Growling riflebird Paradise riflebird Victoria's riflebird

Epimachus	Black sicklebill Brown sicklebill

Drepanornis	Black-billed sicklebill Pale-billed sicklebill

Cicinnurus	Magnificent bird-of-paradise Wilson's bird-of-paradise King bird-of-paradise

Semioptera	Standardwing

Seleucidis	Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise

Paradisaea	Lesser bird-of-paradise Greater bird-of-paradise Raggiana bird-of-paradise Goldie's bird-of-paradise Red bird-of-paradise Emperor bird-of-paradise Blue bird-of-paradise

Incomplete list of likely hybrid birds-of-paradise