The magnificent bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus) is a species of bird-of-paradise. The magnificent bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are listed in Appendix II of CITES.
The generic name Cicinnurus means "curled tail" and its specific name magnificus means magnificent or splendid. The species was formerly listed in the genus Diphyllodes, which means "Double leaf-like", referring to its "leaf-like" tail.
TaxonomyEdit
The Magnificent bird-of-paradise is included in the same genus as the King and Wilson's Birds-of-paradise, though it's more closely related to the latter. The genus Cicinnurus forms a clade with the genera Paradisaea and Paradisornis, and the other closest genus is Astrapia, though it is not included in the clade.
C. m. magnificus(Forster, 1781) (Northwestern New Guinea)
C. m. chrysopterus (Elliot, 1873) (Western and central New Guinea and Yapen Island)
C. m. hunsteini (Meyer, 1885) (Eastern Papua New Guinea)
Distribution and habitatEdit
This rather common species is widespread throughout a large range, in Indonesia, New Guinea and surrounding islands. It occurs in the tropical and subtropical montane and hill forest at altitudes of around 1500 m, though it can be found around 1780 m as well.[3]
As the name suggests, the magnificent bird-of-paradise is magnificent indeed. It has one of the most complex plumage arrangements in the family Paradisaeidae. It reaches around 26–26.5 cm in total length, though the body is around 19 cm. The male has beautiful golden-yellow wings, which are overlapped by a sulfur-colored mantle, or cape, that deflect white to a whitish glow, with deep red feathers bordered by black beneath the cape that form a semicircle over the wings; there are also scruffy brownish feathers on the sides of the cape. The head is fairly short; it is a light brown in a scalloped pattern on the top that extends to the back of the neck, and a darker reddish-brown on the face and below the chin. It has a pale grey-bluish bill, dark brown eyes, and a thin, white line that extends behind the eyes. Below is an entirely different story; almost the entire underside consists of the large, iridescent green breast shield, which is finely decorated with lime-green to turquoise scale-like feathers that run down the middle of it. The plumage under the shield is blackish-brown. When fully extended, the breast shield is edged with shiny turquoise-greenish. The tail is blackish-brown with two long, sickle-like, partially curved central tail plumes that are colored light blue. As characteristic in the genus Cicinnurus, both sexes have colorfully blue legs and feet. The female is drastically different from the extravagant male; she is light-brown above, including the tail (which lacks the long sickles). Her head is light brown, but the chin is intercepted by brown barring and creamy feathers that extend all the way to the rump. Her bill is the same color as the males', and she also has a white line extending behind the eyes.[3]
It is sympatric with its congener, the King Bird-of-paradise, and hybridization has been noted several times. Over 20 specimens of these hybrids exist in museums, though no wild records have ever occurred. It was once even thought to be a separate species, called King of Holland's Bird-of-paradise ("Diphyllodes gulielmitertii"); this hybrid is scarlet red above, of the King, with the golden mantle cape of the Magnificent, also sporting two long tail wires more resembling the king's, but being partially curved at the tip with no green spirals that the king sports.
BehaviorEdit
These birds feed mainly on fruits, but also feed on animal matter (notably insects, reptiles, and amphibians), and possibly take nectar and flowers. They mainly feed solitarily, but may also feed in mixed-species congregations. Like most members of the family Paradisaeidae, the male is polygamous and performs an elaborate courtship display, very unique in its family. These birds build their courts on rugged slopes of rocky and uneven terrain. Their courtship typically takes place on a sapling standing up from the ground. He commonly tends to his court and makes sure it stays clean and clear of fallen debris.[3]
When a female attends his court, he is usually on his display perch. Here is where he does his display; he leans backwards to the point where his body is perpendicular to the sapling, raises his mantle cape, to where it appears like a yellow halo behind his head, expands and flexes his iridescent breast shield, and waggles his sickle-shaped tail on each side. Though this performance is comical, it is often observed by many females nearby, who do not take the male mating with the core audience member too lightly. When the male is about to copulate with the core female, other females nearby will spring from their perches to attack and shoo off the female, and the male is discouraged and may have to wait a while to perform again.[4][5]
Typical of most of the bird-of-paradise family, the female takes up all parental duties, including nest-building, incubation, and chick-rearing. They lay one to two creamy yellow eggs, and incubation usually concludes within 19 days, and the chicks usually fledge in 18 days.[4]
Male specimen, race hunsteini, at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Note the iridescent scale-like feathers going down the breast shield.
External linksEdit
iNatutalist
eBird
Oiseaux (in French)
BibliographyEdit
Beehler, B. M. (1983). Frugivory and polygamy in Birds of Paradise. The Auk 100: 1-12.
Bruce M. Beehler, Thane K. Pratt: Birds of New Guinea. Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics. Princeton University Press, Princeton 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3.
Clifford B. Frith, Bruce M. Beehler: The Birds of Paradise – Paradisaeidae. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-854853-2.
Eugene M McCarthy: Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-19-518323-1.
Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. (2009). Family Paradisaeidae (Birds of Paradise). In del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. & Christie, D. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Volume 14. p. 404-459. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Gilliard, E. T. (1969). Birds of paradise and Bowerbirds. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, New York.
Ottaviani, M. (2012). Les Oiseaux de Paradis – Histoire Naturelle et photographies, 320 pages. Éditions Prin, France.
Thane Pratt & Bruce M Behhler. (2015): Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press, Princeton & Oxford, 2. Ausgabe, ISBN 978-0-691-09563-9.
ReferencesEdit
Wikispecies has information related to Magnificent bird-of-paradise.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Magnificent bird-of-paradise.
^BirdLife International (2018). "Cicinnurus magnificus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T22706199A130411682. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22706199A130411682.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
magnificent, bird, paradise, magnificent, bird, paradise, cicinnurus, magnificus, species, bird, paradise, magnificent, bird, paradise, evaluated, least, concern, iucn, list, threatened, species, they, listed, appendix, cites, maleconservation, statusleast, co. The magnificent bird of paradise Cicinnurus magnificus is a species of bird of paradise The magnificent bird of paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species They are listed in Appendix II of CITES Magnificent bird of paradiseMaleConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClade DinosauriaClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily ParadisaeidaeGenus CicinnurusSpecies C magnificusBinomial nameCicinnurus magnificus Pennant 1781 SynonymsDiphyllodes magnificus Contents 1 Etymology 2 Taxonomy 3 Subspecies 4 Distribution and habitat 5 Description 6 Behavior 7 Gallery 8 External links 9 Bibliography 10 ReferencesEtymology EditThe generic name Cicinnurus means curled tail and its specific name magnificus means magnificent or splendid The species was formerly listed in the genus Diphyllodes which means Double leaf like referring to its leaf like tail Taxonomy EditThe Magnificent bird of paradise is included in the same genus as the King and Wilson s Birds of paradise though it s more closely related to the latter The genus Cicinnurus forms a clade with the genera Paradisaea and Paradisornis and the other closest genus is Astrapia though it is not included in the clade Subspecies EditThis species has three subspecies 2 C m magnificus Forster 1781 Northwestern New Guinea C m chrysopterus Elliot 1873 Western and central New Guinea and Yapen Island C m hunsteini Meyer 1885 Eastern Papua New Guinea Distribution and habitat EditThis rather common species is widespread throughout a large range in Indonesia New Guinea and surrounding islands It occurs in the tropical and subtropical montane and hill forest at altitudes of around 1500 m though it can be found around 1780 m as well 3 Description Edit nbsp Cicinnurus magnificus from Aru IslandsAs the name suggests the magnificent bird of paradise is magnificent indeed It has one of the most complex plumage arrangements in the family Paradisaeidae It reaches around 26 26 5 cm in total length though the body is around 19 cm The male has beautiful golden yellow wings which are overlapped by a sulfur colored mantle or cape that deflect white to a whitish glow with deep red feathers bordered by black beneath the cape that form a semicircle over the wings there are also scruffy brownish feathers on the sides of the cape The head is fairly short it is a light brown in a scalloped pattern on the top that extends to the back of the neck and a darker reddish brown on the face and below the chin It has a pale grey bluish bill dark brown eyes and a thin white line that extends behind the eyes Below is an entirely different story almost the entire underside consists of the large iridescent green breast shield which is finely decorated with lime green to turquoise scale like feathers that run down the middle of it The plumage under the shield is blackish brown When fully extended the breast shield is edged with shiny turquoise greenish The tail is blackish brown with two long sickle like partially curved central tail plumes that are colored light blue As characteristic in the genus Cicinnurus both sexes have colorfully blue legs and feet The female is drastically different from the extravagant male she is light brown above including the tail which lacks the long sickles Her head is light brown but the chin is intercepted by brown barring and creamy feathers that extend all the way to the rump Her bill is the same color as the males and she also has a white line extending behind the eyes 3 It is sympatric with its congener the King Bird of paradise and hybridization has been noted several times Over 20 specimens of these hybrids exist in museums though no wild records have ever occurred It was once even thought to be a separate species called King of Holland s Bird of paradise Diphyllodes gulielmitertii this hybrid is scarlet red above of the King with the golden mantle cape of the Magnificent also sporting two long tail wires more resembling the king s but being partially curved at the tip with no green spirals that the king sports Behavior EditThese birds feed mainly on fruits but also feed on animal matter notably insects reptiles and amphibians and possibly take nectar and flowers They mainly feed solitarily but may also feed in mixed species congregations Like most members of the family Paradisaeidae the male is polygamous and performs an elaborate courtship display very unique in its family These birds build their courts on rugged slopes of rocky and uneven terrain Their courtship typically takes place on a sapling standing up from the ground He commonly tends to his court and makes sure it stays clean and clear of fallen debris 3 When a female attends his court he is usually on his display perch Here is where he does his display he leans backwards to the point where his body is perpendicular to the sapling raises his mantle cape to where it appears like a yellow halo behind his head expands and flexes his iridescent breast shield and waggles his sickle shaped tail on each side Though this performance is comical it is often observed by many females nearby who do not take the male mating with the core audience member too lightly When the male is about to copulate with the core female other females nearby will spring from their perches to attack and shoo off the female and the male is discouraged and may have to wait a while to perform again 4 5 Typical of most of the bird of paradise family the female takes up all parental duties including nest building incubation and chick rearing They lay one to two creamy yellow eggs and incubation usually concludes within 19 days and the chicks usually fledge in 18 days 4 Gallery Edit nbsp Male nbsp Two males Illustration by John Gould nbsp Male underside showing the iridescent green breast shield nbsp Male upperside nbsp Nominate female specimen at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center nbsp Male left and female right nbsp Male specimen race hunsteini at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center Note the iridescent scale like feathers going down the breast shield External links EditiNatutalist eBird Oiseaux in French Bibliography EditBeehler B M 1983 Frugivory and polygamy in Birds of Paradise The Auk 100 1 12 Bruce M Beehler Thane K Pratt Birds of New Guinea Distribution Taxonomy and Systematics Princeton University Press Princeton 2016 ISBN 978 0 691 16424 3 Clifford B Frith Bruce M Beehler The Birds of Paradise Paradisaeidae Oxford University Press Oxford 1998 ISBN 0 19 854853 2 Eugene M McCarthy Handbook of Avian Hybrids of the World Oxford University Press Oxford 2006 ISBN 0 19 518323 1 Frith C B amp Frith D W 2009 Family Paradisaeidae Birds of Paradise In del Hoyo J Elliott A amp Christie D Handbook of the Birds of the World Bush shrikes to Old World Sparrows Volume 14 p 404 459 Lynx Edicions Barcelona Gilliard E T 1969 Birds of paradise and Bowerbirds Weidenfeld amp Nicolson New York Ottaviani M 2012 Les Oiseaux de Paradis Histoire Naturelle et photographies 320 pages Editions Prin France Thane Pratt amp Bruce M Behhler 2015 Birds of New Guinea Princeton University Press Princeton amp Oxford 2 Ausgabe ISBN 978 0 691 09563 9 References Edit nbsp Wikispecies has information related to Magnificent bird of paradise nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Magnificent bird of paradise BirdLife International 2018 Cicinnurus magnificus IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018 e T22706199A130411682 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2018 2 RLTS T22706199A130411682 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Avibase a b c Animal Diversity Web a b Magnificent Bird of paradise Cicinnurus magnificus www hbw com Retrieved 2019 10 08 Video of a courtship Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Magnificent bird of paradise amp oldid 1176670606, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
