Paradise riflebird

Paradise riflebird
Ptiloris paradiseus. Illustration from IOC World Bird List
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paradisaeidae
Genus: Ptiloris
Species: P. paradiseus
Binomial name
Ptiloris paradiseus
Swainson, 1825

The paradise riflebird (Ptiloris paradiseus) is a species of passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family.

The paradise riflebird is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[1] It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

Description

The paradise riflebird is medium-sized, up to 30 cm long. The male is black with an iridescent greenish blue crown, throat and central tail feathers. It has a black curved bill, black feet, dark brown iris and yellow mouth. The female is an olive brown bird with barred blackish below. The diet consists mainly of insects and fruits.

Behavior

In displays, the male extends his wings and fans them upward with its head behind the wings to expose his metallic green throat feathers. He then moves his head from side to side with open bill to show off his bright yellow mouth.

Distribution

Endemic to eastern Australia, the paradise riflebird is distributed to rainforests of New South Wales and central Queensland.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ptiloris paradiseus.
Wikispecies has information related to: Ptiloris paradiseus
Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article Rifle-bird.


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