Ribbon-tailed Astrapia
Encyclopedia
The Ribbon-tailed Astrapia also known as Shaw Mayer's Astrapia, Astrapia mayeri is a medium-sized, up to 32 cm long (without including the tail of the male, which can be over 1 meter), velvet black bird of paradise. The male has an iridescent olive green and bronze plumage
, and is adorned with ornamental "ball" plume above its bill
and two extremely long, ribbon-like white tail feathers. The female is a brown bird with an iridescent head. Hybrids between this species and the Stephanie's Astrapia
, in the small area where their ranges overlap, have been named Barnes' Astrapia
.
One of the most spectacular birds of paradise, the male Ribbon-tailed Astrapia has the longest tail feathers in relation to body size of any bird, over three times the length of its body.
The Ribbon-tailed Astrapia is distributed and endemic
to subalpine
forests in western part of the central highlands of Papua New Guinea
. Like many other ornamental birds of paradise, the male is polygamous. The Ribbon-tailed Astrapia is the latest bird of paradise to be discovered.
The scientific name commemorates the great naturalist
and New Guinea
explorer Fred Shaw Mayer
, who was believed to have discovered the bird in 1938. However, it is now believed that explorer Jack Hides
discovered the bird, while Mayer became interested in it later.
Due to habitat lost and hunted for its plumes, the Ribbon-tailed Astrapia is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
, and is adorned with ornamental "ball" plume above its bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and two extremely long, ribbon-like white tail feathers. The female is a brown bird with an iridescent head. Hybrids between this species and the Stephanie's Astrapia
Stephanie's Astrapia
Princess Stephanie's Astrapia, Astrapia stephaniae, also known as Stephanie's Astrapia, is a medium-sized, approximately 37 cm long, black bird of paradise with an iridescent blue-green and purple head, silky plumage below and two very long, broad purplish-black central tail feathers...
, in the small area where their ranges overlap, have been named Barnes' Astrapia
Barnes' Astrapia
Barnes' Astrapia, also known as Barnes' Long-tailed Bird of Paradise or Barnes's Long-tail, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae and the genus Astrapia that is a likely hybrid between a Stephanie's Astrapia and Ribbon-tailed Astrapia .-Description:Barnes' Astrapia is similar in appearance to both...
.
The Ribbon-tailed Astrapia is distributed and endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to subalpine
Subalpine
The subalpine zone is the biotic zone immediately below tree line around the world. Species that occur in this zone depend on the location of the zone on the Earth, for example, Snow Gum in Australia, or Subalpine Larch, Mountain Hemlock and Subalpine Fir in western North America.Trees in the...
forests in western part of the central highlands of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Like many other ornamental birds of paradise, the male is polygamous. The Ribbon-tailed Astrapia is the latest bird of paradise to be discovered.
The scientific name commemorates the great naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
explorer Fred Shaw Mayer
Fred Shaw Mayer
Frederick William Shaw Mayer MBE , also well known as "Masta Pisin" or the "Bird Man" in New Guinea, was an Australian ornithologist, aviculturist and zoological collector...
, who was believed to have discovered the bird in 1938. However, it is now believed that explorer Jack Hides
Jack Hides
Jack Gordon Hides was an explorer of the then-Australian-controlled territories of Papua and New Guinea, now modern Papua New Guinea. He served as a Patrol Officer from 1931 to 1936, and led several expeditions in the early 1930s....
discovered the bird, while Mayer became interested in it later.
Due to habitat lost and hunted for its plumes, the Ribbon-tailed Astrapia is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.