General Description
Medium-sized bird with velvet black back and neck, iridescent head, throat and belly. Long decurved, black bill. Females with brown back, head, eye stripe and long moustache. Narrow stripes on breast and belly of alternating white and brown. Long decurved grey black bill. Weight up to 185 g, head-body length up to 34 cm.
Biology
Polygynous mating system where males advertise and mate with multiple females. Males display on a dancing perch by extending their wings, raising their tails, and swinging their heads from side to side. Females build nests, incubate and raise the young alone.
Distribution
Papua New Guinea, Queensland - Cape York Peninsula
Habitat
Forest, occasionally mangroves or timber plantation
More Information
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Animal Type
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Fast Fact
Male displays involve shifting feathers positions to change the colours of their iridescent throat patch from blue to purple to black.
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Brief Id
A striking bird with iridescent blue and olive feathers across the breast, belly and head and strong, long bill. Females have a brown back, eye stripe, head and moustache with white and brown narrow striping along the breast and belly.
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Colours
Black, Blue-green, Brown
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Maximum Size
34 cm
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Habitats
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Where To Look
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When Active
Diurnal
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Diet
Omnivore
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Diet Categories
Fruits, Insects, Spiders
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Endemicity
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Conservation Statuses
CITES: Trade restrictions (Appendix II), EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Least Concern
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Taxon Name
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Common Name
Magnificent Riflebird
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Kingdom
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Class
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Order
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Family
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Genus
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Species Name
magnificus
