Alternative names: Great Astrapia; Black Astrapia; Gorget Astrapia; Arfak Bird-of-paradise
- Astrapia nigra
Identification
Male 60cm (76cm with central rectrices), female 50cm.
A large Astrapia with an extremely long, graduated tail.
Male
- Velvety jet-black head with blue to purple iridescence
- Crown and side with coppery-bronze wash, especially on larger scale-like nape feathers
- Cape with metallic yellowish-green scale-like feathers with purple-blue sheen, contrasting with velvety jet-black elongated plush feathers on each side
- Sooty brownish-black back to uppertail-coverts
- Sooty black upperwing and uppertail with violet-purple sheen
- Black malar area
- Velvety iridescent blue chin and throat with purple and/or magenta wash
- Elongated dense feathers of upper breast velvety jet-black with coppery violet-purple iridescence, boardered below by bronzed coppery feathers
- Dully iridescent dark green rest of underparts
- Dark brown eye
- Shiny black bill
Female
- Black head and nape glossed iridescent dark blue
- Drab blackish-brown rest of plumage
- Dusky brown below, narrowly buff barred
Distribution
Endemic to the Arfak Mountains in northwest New Guinea. A single sight record from Tamrau Mountains.
A little recorded species with a small range.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species.[1]
Hybridization with Black Sicklebill recorded.
Habitat
Montane and subalpine forest. Occurs at 1700 - 2250m.
Behaviour
Diet little known. Feeds on fruits and arthropods.
A feeding female was recorded in July, juveniles from July to August. No other information about breeding or display behaviour.
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) Arfak Astrapia. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 27 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Arfak_Astrapia
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
