Lesser bird-of-paradise
Lesser bird-of-paradise | |
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Male | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Paradisaeidae |
Genus: | Paradisaea |
Species: | P. minor
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Binomial name | |
Paradisaea minor Shaw, 1809
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The lesser bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor) is a bird-of-paradise in the genus Paradisaea.
Description[]
The lesser bird-of-paradise is medium-sized, up to 32 cm-long, maroon-brown with a yellow crown and brownish-yellow upper back. The male has a dark emerald-green throat, a pair of long tail-wires and is adorned with ornamental flank plumes which are deep yellow at their base and fade outwards into white. The female is a maroon bird with a dark-brown head and whitish underparts. Further study is required,[2] but it seems likely that birds-of-paradise also possess toxins in their skins, derived from their insect prey.
It resembles the larger greater bird-of-paradise, but the male of that species has a dark chest, whereas the female is entirely brown (no whitish underparts).
Breeding[]
The males are polygamous, and perform courtship displays in leks. The female usually lays two pinkish eggs with dark markings in a nest in a tree high above ground. Its diet consists mainly of fruits and insects.
Distribution[]
The lesser bird-of-paradise is distributed throughout forests of northern New Guinea, and the nearby islands of Misool and Yapen. Widespread and common throughout its large range, the lesser bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
References[]
- ^ BirdLife International (2012). "Paradisaea minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ Venomous Animals of the World, Steve Backshall; 2007, New Holland Publishers (UK), Ltd.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paradisaea minor. |
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Paradisaea
- Birds of New Guinea
- Birds described in 1809
- Taxa named by George Shaw