The crescent-caped lophorina or Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise (''Lophorina niedda''), sometimes noted as the curl-caped bird-of-paradise,
is a species of the
Paradisaeidae
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...
(
bird-of-paradise
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...
) family. It is endemic to the
Bird's Head Peninsula
The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...
in
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
(''Vogelkop'' in Dutch).
First described in 1930 by
Ernst Mayr, it had been treated as a subspecies of the
superb bird-of-paradise but was elevated to the status of a full species in 2017,
and reinforced in 2018 based on its striking black plumage (its feathers absorb 99.95 percent of light) and behavioral differences, especially visible in the courting male.
Etymology
The crescent-caped lophorina's scientific name consists of the words ''lophorina'', meaning "tuft/crest-nose", referring to the upward-standing tufts of feathers behind each nostril, and ''niedda'' which refers to the native
onomatopoeic name for a bird-of-paradise. The subspecies, ''L. n. inopinata'' specific name means unexpected or unlooked for.
Taxonomy and systematics
Historical sources generally recorded the crescent-caped lophorina as being a subspecies of the
superb bird-of-paradise (''Lophorina superba niedda''); however, in 2017, the crescent-caped lophorina was formally treated as a separate species.
There are two known subspecies: ''L. n. niedda'', found on the Wadammen Peninsula; and ''L. n. inopinata'', found on the
Doberai Peninsula
The Bird's Head Peninsula ( Indonesian: ''Kepala Burung'', nl, Vogelkop) or Doberai Peninsula (''Semenanjung Doberai''), is a large peninsula that makes up the northwest portion of the island of New Guinea, comprising the Indonesian provinces ...
.
There are also several differences in courtship behavior, as well as their geographic isolation from the rest of the population.
This classification is disputed, however; the subspecies ''inopinata'' comprises the taxon formerly known as ''L. superba superba'', but given a new name,
while other taxonomists argue that regardless of the evidence, names should not be reassigned from one recognized taxon to another after over 200 years of consistent application.
[Elliott A, Collar NJ, Bruce MD, Kirwan GM (2020) The nomenclature of ''Lophorina'' (Aves: PARADISAEIDAE), with remarks on the type and type locality of ''L. superba''. Zootaxa 4732 (1): 57‒78.]
Distribution and habitat
The crescent-caped lophorina is found in the mountains of Bird's Neck Peninsula, in
Western New Guinea
Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
.
It is typically found at heights of 1200–2000 m.
References
External links
*
Birds described in 1930
Taxa named by Ernst Mayr
Birds of Indonesia
Birds of New Guinea
Lophorina
{{Paradisaeidae-stub