King of Saxony bird-of-paradise

King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Superorder	Passerimorphae
Order	Passeriformes
Sub-order	Passeri
Family Information
Superfamily	Passeroidea
Family	Paradisaeidae
Tribe Information
Tribe	Paradisaeini
Genus Information
Genus	Pteridophora
Species Information
Species	P. alberti
Population statistics
Population	Unknown (2016 est.)
Conservation status	Least concern

The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise (Pteridophora alberti) is a species of bird of the family Paradisaeidae, and found in the montane forests of New Guinea. German naturalist Adolf Bernhard Meyer (1840–1911) was the first to describe the bird to western science, with both common and scientific names honoring King Albert of Saxony.

Description

Males have a body length of about 8.5 inches and a body weight of 2.8 to 3.3 ounces. Females are slightly smaller, about 7.9 inches long, and weigh 2.4 to 3.1 ounces. The head and top of the males are black, with slightly-elongated neck feathers; like many other birds-of-paradise the feathers can shimmer iridescence in the light, in this bird in bronze-green. Other noticeable features include the large, isolated, scale-like feathers in the middle and on the lower edge of the otherwise black throat, which have a green-blue to purple iridescence. The rest of the underside of the body is dark yellow. The breast plumage is a little shinier, the rump and the under tail-coverts a little paler and duller. The feathers on the flanks are cream-colored. The legs are gray-brown, the beak black. The iris is dark brown.

The most spectacular feature of this bird is a pair of long feathers jutting out from the back of the head. They are pennant-like structures it can raise and lower at will, each about 19 inches long, more than twice the length of the body. Mounted to them are forty to fifty individual "flags" with a light blue outer and red-brown inner.

In contrast, females are plainer, with a grayish to blackish-gray upper body, and a cream-colored underside. The ash gray feathers on the head and neck have fine black tips, giving that part of the body a finely-scaled look. Behind each ear they have one and often even a second slightly elongated and pointed feather. The feathers of the wing-coverts have pale reddish-brown hems, while the wing feathers on the outside have narrow whitish hems. The chin and throat are gray-brown and a wide gray-brown transverse band on each feather. The rest of the underside of the body is whitish from the breast to the rump with V-shaped black-brown spots. The thighs are pale fawn-brown and the under-tail-coverts are red-brown with also V-shaped black-brown spots. Juvenile birds are similar in coloration.

The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise has an unusual repertoire of calls for a bird of paradise. The courtship song is considered to be very difficult to describe and has been compared by some authors to the squeaking noise that a rusted iron door makes when it is opened; other authors have compared it to the sound that is produced when steam escapes, with it ending in a loud croak that can be heard over a mile away.

Subspecies

The following are conjectured to be subspecies of P. alberti; however, due to slight differences in coloration only, not all authorities accept this list.

• Pteridophora alberti alberti
• Pteridophora alberti burgersi
• Pteridophora alberti hallstromi

Range and habitat

The bird is endemic to the montane rainforests of New Guinea, specifically a large corridor along the Pegunungan Maoke mountains, and in an elevation from 4,400 to 7,500 feet.

Diet

The diet consists mainly of fruits that ripen in the forest canopy, with a particular preference for green fruits. The stomach contents of three individuals collected in two different areas of Papua New Guinea contained between 75 and 90 percent fruit and 10 to 25 percent arthropods. They may also eat buds and flowers.

While looking for arthropods, they search the mosses and lichens that grow along branches of comparatively small diameter. It was once observed how a pennant bearer carried a dead fern frond to a stand guard and tore it apart with his beak, while at the same time holding it with one foot.

References

• Heads, M. 2002. "Birds of Paradise, Vicariance Biogeography, and Terrane Tectonics in New Guinea". Journal of Biogeography, Vol. 29 Issue 2: 261-283.