Archbold's Bowerbird
Encyclopedia
The Archbold's Bowerbird, Archboldia papuensis is a medium-sized, up to 37 cm long, dark grey songbird
with brown iris
, grey feet and black bill
. The male has narrow black scalloping with some trace of golden yellow crown feathers and dark grey forked tail, that shorter than the wing. Both sexes are similar. The female is smaller than male, with yellow patch on wings and has no crown feathering.
The Archbold's Bowerbird is distributed and endemic
to highland forests of Western New Guinea
. The male is polygamous and its bower yet to be discovered. The diet consists mainly of fruits.
This little known bowerbird
was discovered by Austin Loomer Rand in 1939. The name commemorates the New Guinea
explorer and ornithologist Richard Archbold
. It is notable for going to great lengths in acquiring shed ornamental plumes of the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
for decorating its courtship bower.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, the Archbold's Bowerbird is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
with brown iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
, grey feet and black 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...
. The male has narrow black scalloping with some trace of golden yellow crown feathers and dark grey forked tail, that shorter than the wing. Both sexes are similar. The female is smaller than male, with yellow patch on wings and has no crown feathering.
The Archbold's Bowerbird 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 highland forests of Western New Guinea
Western New Guinea
West Papua informally refers to the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. The region is officially administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is Papua New Guinea.The population of approximately 3 million...
. The male is polygamous and its bower yet to be discovered. The diet consists mainly of fruits.
This little known bowerbird
Bowerbird
Bowerbirds make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. The family has 20 species in eight genera. These are medium-sized passerines, ranging from the Golden Bowerbird to the Great Bowerbird...
was discovered by Austin Loomer Rand in 1939. The name commemorates the 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 and ornithologist Richard Archbold
Richard Archbold
Richard Archbold was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools and later attended classes at Columbia University though he never graduated...
. It is notable for going to great lengths in acquiring shed ornamental plumes of the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
The King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise is a bird in the Bird-of-paradise family . It is the only member in the monotypic genus Pteridophora. It is endemic to montane forest in New Guinea....
for decorating its courtship bower.
Due to ongoing habitat loss, the Archbold's Bowerbird is evaluated 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.