Alternative names: Lawes's Six-wired Bird-of-paradise; Lawes's Six-plumed Bird-of-paradise
- Parotia lawesii
Identification
Male 27cm, female 25cm. A broad-winged and short-tailed Parotia.
Male
- Velvety jet-black plumage with iridescent sheen in various colours
- Erectile silver narial tuft over upper mandible
- Iridescent blue to pink-purple narrow nuchal bar
- Three elongated wire-like bare occipital plumes from behind each eye
- Breast-shield of intensely metallic emerald green to greenish-yellow iridescent scale-like feathers
- Cobalt-blue eye with pale cream-yellow outer ring
- Shiny black bill
Female
- Smaller, lacks iridescence and head plumes
- Brownish-black head with paler submoustachial stripe and dark malar stripe
- Chestnut-brown upperparts
- Pale underparts with russet tone regularly barred blackish
- Brownish-black bill
Juveniles are undescribed, immature males are similar to females.
Distribution
Endemic to the highlands of east-central New Guinea to the southern slopes of the southeast peninsula.
Common in parts of its small range.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Some lists regard Eastern Parotia as subspecies of this species.
Habitat
Mountain forests. Occurs at 500 - 2300m, mainly at 1200 - 1900m.
Behaviour
Feeds mostly on fruits, takes also some animals (arthropods and skinks).
Breeding season at least from June to January. A polygynous species. The male attends a terrestrial court where it shows a complex display courtship involving a dance. The female builds and attends the nest alone. However, some females return to the same male each year.
The nest is similar to a Manucode's nest, an open shallow structure made of fern tendrils and creeping-fern stems, placed 5 - 12m above the ground in the canopy. Lays 1 egg.
Presumably a resident species.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Lawes's Parotia. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 28 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Lawes%27s_Parotia
