| [Edit]
The Superb Bird of Paradise, Lophorina superba is a small, up to 26cm long, black bird of paradise with an iridescent green crown, blue-green breast shield and a long velvety black erectile cape covering his back. The female is a reddish brown bird with brownish barred buff below.
A polygamous male performs one of the most spectacular courtship displays in the avian world. Early in his performance he sings loud and rapid notes, then he starts to hop around in front of the female. Suddenly his folded black cape and blue-green breast shield springs upward and spreads widely around its head, transforming himself into a dancing parabola-shaped creature.
Although heavily hunted for its plumes, the Superb Bird of Paradise is one of the most common and widespread birds of paradise in the forests of New Guinea. It is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Superb Bird of Paradise
| | Name | Superb Bird of Paradise | | Status | LC | | Regnum | Animalia | | Phylum | Chordate | | Classis | Bird | | Ordo | Passeriformes | | Familia | Paradisaeidae | | Genus | Lophorina | | Genus Authority | Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot | | Species | L. superba | | Binomial | Lophorina superba | | Binomial Authority | Thomas Pennant |
| |
|
|
