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Project Noah Nature School
Ptiloris victoriae
Sexually dimorphic. Adults, 23 cm. Adult males jet black with iridescent greenish blue crown and breast shield, underparts with bronze-yellow sheen and central pair of tail feather greenish blue. Female greyish brown above, with narrow pale line above eye and underparts rich cinnamon with small dark chevrons.
Lowland to hill rainforests, in eucalypt and melaleuca wet sclerophyll and swamp woodlands, occasionally in gardens and mangroves; 0-1200m.
Courtship: Polygynous. Solitary male displays and sings at traditional perches, defending these sites from other males each season (July-December). Ccourtship begins with static posture, which develops into several movements and postures. Twisting wings and swinging head, male moves towards female and claps wings aggressively, encircling and almost hitting her with wings. Breeding: Breeding occurs least August-February. Only female builds and attends to nest, which is built 20 m from ground, in new foliage atop broken tree stump or branch. Incubation 18-19 days; nestling period of 13-15 days. No known hybridisation; does not share habitat with any other bird of paradise.
Spotted on Dec 11, 2011
Submitted on Apr 6, 2012
4 Comments
One of my favourites
Fabulous! I thought these were only in PNG. That's a great find.
Grandioso felicidades
Excellent, love the last one,