Australasian Figbird

Description:

The medium-sized Australasian Figbird has a total length of 27-29.5 cm (10½-11½ inches) and weighs about 128 g (4.5 oz). They are highly sexually dimorphic (males and females can easily be visually identified). Males have a black head with distinctive bare, bright red facial skin around the eyes. In the nominate subspecies, the plumage is mostly olive-green, and the throat, neck and chest are grey. The male of the southern race found in eastern Australia has a grey collar, throat and chest with white belly. The male of the species found in northeast Queensland and northern Australia has a yellow throat, chest and belly and lacks the grey collar of the southern race. Females are not as colorful; their bodies are brown and white with strong dark streaking. Their facial skin is grey, displaying no other distinctive head markings. Like the males, the tops of their bodies (dorsal areas) are brown-green above and their underparts (ventral areas) are an off-white with brown streaking. Both sexes have a greyish-black bill with a red base and pinkish legs. Juveniles resemble females, but the streaking below is generally not as strong.