King of Saxony Bird of Paradise
Encyclopedia
The King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise (Pteridophora alberti) is a bird
in the Bird-of-paradise family
(Paradisaeidae). It is the only member in the monotypic genus
Pteridophora. It is endemic to montane forest in New Guinea
.
Both the common name "King of Saxony" and the scientific specific name "alberti" were given to honour Albert of Saxony
. The bird is sometimes known as "Kisaba" by the natives of Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea, as a human interpretation of the male's loud call.
The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and arthropods.
The adult King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise is approximately 22 cm long. The male is black and yellow with a dark brown iris
, black bill
, brownish-grey legs, aqua-green mouth, with two remarkably long (up to 50 cm) scalloped, enamel-blue brow-plumes that can be erected at the bird's will. The unadorned female is greyish brown with barred underparts.
The male's ornamental head plumes are so bizarre that, when the first specimen
was brought to Europe
, it was thought to be a fake.
to the Krathe Range in Papua New Guinea
at 1,400–2,850 meters above sea level, but primarily at 1,800–2,500 meters asl
.
Although males are hunted for their highly prized long plumes, used by natives for ceremonial purposes, the species remains fairly common in parts of its range. It is considered to be of Least Concern
on the IUCN Red List
of threatened species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
. The male guards its territory from perches placed in the tops of tall trees, and from these perches sings to compete with males in neighbouring territories. Moulted head-plumes in good condition are sought by male Archbold's Bowerbird
s for use as decorations, and in turn collected from the courtship bowers by humans.
In 1996 David Attenborough
filmed the first ever footage of the mating
ritual of the bird.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Bird-of-paradise family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
(Paradisaeidae). It is the only member in the monotypic genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Pteridophora. It is endemic to montane forest in 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...
.
Both the common name "King of Saxony" and the scientific specific name "alberti" were given to honour Albert of Saxony
Albert of Saxony
Albert of Saxony may refer to:* Albert of Saxony * Albert I, Duke of Saxony * Albert, Duke of Saxony * Prince Albert of Saxony, Duke of Teschen * Albert of Saxony...
. The bird is sometimes known as "Kisaba" by the natives of Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea, as a human interpretation of the male's loud call.
The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and arthropods.
Description
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...
, 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...
, brownish-grey legs, aqua-green mouth, with two remarkably long (up to 50 cm) scalloped, enamel-blue brow-plumes that can be erected at the bird's will. The unadorned female is greyish brown with barred underparts.
The male's ornamental head plumes are so bizarre that, when the first specimen
Specimen
A specimen is a portion/quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study.BiologyA laboratory specimen is an individual animal, part of an animal, a plant, part of a plant, or a microorganism, used as a representative to study the properties of the whole population of that species or...
was brought to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, it was thought to be a fake.
Distribution
The species is distributed from the Weyland Mountains in Western New GuineaWestern 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...
to the Krathe Range in 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...
at 1,400–2,850 meters above sea level, but primarily at 1,800–2,500 meters asl
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
.
Although males are hunted for their highly prized long plumes, used by natives for ceremonial purposes, the species remains fairly common in parts of its range. It is considered to be of Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
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.
Behaviour
Adult males are territorialTerritory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
. The male guards its territory from perches placed in the tops of tall trees, and from these perches sings to compete with males in neighbouring territories. Moulted head-plumes in good condition are sought by male Archbold's Bowerbird
Archbold's Bowerbird
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...
s for use as decorations, and in turn collected from the courtship bowers by humans.
In 1996 David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
filmed the first ever footage of the mating
Mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for copulation. In social animals, it also includes the raising of their offspring. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization...
ritual of the bird.