The bronze parotia (''Parotia berlepschi''), also known as the Foja parotia, Berlepsch's parotia or Berlepsch's six-wired bird-of-paradise, is a species of

bird-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the Family (biology), family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. T ...

, in the family

Paradisaeidae The birds-of-paradise are members of the Family (biology), family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. T ...

. It resembles and is often considered to be a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

Carola's parotia Carola's parotia (, ''Parotia carolae''), also known as Queen Carola's six-wired bird-of-paradise or Queen Carola's parotia, is a species of bird-of-paradise. One of the most colourful parotias, the Queen Carola's parotia inhabits the mid-mounta ...

, but a high majority of authorities support its specific status. The species share many differentiated features (see Description), though the Carola's parotia is more studied than the elusive bronze parotia. The species was first described by

Otto Kleinschmidt Otto Kleinschmidt (13 December 1870 – 25 March 1954) was a German Ornithology, ornithologist, Theology, theologist and pastor. He was also an artist and taxidermist who produced specimens and illustrations of birds for his writings. He was crit ...

in 1897.

Etymology

The bronze parotia's

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

is ''Parotia berlepschi.'' The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

name, ''

Parotia The parotias are a genus, ''Parotia'', of passerine birds in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae. They are endemic to New Guinea. They are also known as six-plumed birds of paradise, due to their six head quills. These birds were featured ...

'' is composed of ''par'', meaning "near" and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''ōtos'' for "

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

", specifically meaning "curl of hair by the ear", referring to six head plumes on each side of the head, characteristic to males of the genus ''Parotia''. Its specific name, ''berlepschi'', honors

Hans von Berlepsch Count Hans Hermann Carl Ludwig von Berlepsch (29 July 1850 – 27 February 1915) was a German ornithologist who took an interest in the birds of South America. He also had a cousin named Baron Sittich Hans von Berlepsch (1857-1933) with whom he w ...

, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

(1850-1915).

Description

Arguably one of the more drab members of its

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, the male bronze parotia has a blackish body in general with a conspicuous oily

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

sheen, more greenish in the

neck The neck is the part of the body in many vertebrates that connects the head to the torso. It supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that transmit sensory and motor information between the brain and the rest of the body. Addition ...

area, that gives the bird its common name. The differences in the facial and head area is much more differentiated from the

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

; the frontal crest of the bronze parotia is mostly black with only a more reduced portion of white tips towards the center of it rather than an extended area of white found in Carola's; the inner "bowl" of the frontal crest is greenish gold. There also is a very thin,

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

stripe that ends in a circle that encircles the

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

s. Another characteristic of the genus are the six head plumes,

anatomically Anatomy () is the branch of Morphology (biology), morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things ...

called occipital plumes, long,

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample d ...

-like feathers with black, spatulate tips. His

chin The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

feathers are greyish to rusty brown, based by a dull

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

. These "

whiskers Whiskers, also known as vibrissae (; vibrissa; ) are a type of stiff, functional hair used by most therian mammals to sense their environment. These hairs are finely specialised for this purpose, whereas other types of hair are coarser as ta ...

" lead to the ''Parotia-''characteristic, iridescent breast plate composed of scale-like feathers, each with a black, dotted center, and shine pink, orange, green, blue, yellow, gold, violet and orange, depending on the light angle; however, the breast shield is typically inconspicuous in most views. Like other parotias, the male has elongated flank plumes on his sides used in their displays; additionally, found only in Carola's and this species, these flank feathers are black and white, the white standing out on the body. It has a short, black tail, which is shorter than Carola's. It has a relatively robust, more prominently hooked, grey-black

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

, light blue-greyish eyes surrounded by an orange ring, and grey-black legs and feet. The female is drastically different from the female, being light brown above with reddish

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

s, light brown tail, and a brown and white head. She is creamy below, covered by brown-blackish barring.

Behavior and ecology

Because of its inaccessibility, the

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

of the bronze parotia is very poorly described. Its diet may consist of

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s, and possibly other animal prey. Its

courtship behavior A courtship display is a set of display behaviors in which an animal, usually a male, attempts to attract a mate; the mate exercises choice, so sexual selection acts on the display. These behaviors often include ritualized movement ("dances"), ...

may be similar to

courtship behavior. According to

expert Edwin Scholes, actions include court clearing, mat construction, horizontal perch pivot display, hop and shake display, and leaf presentation. Parotias, along with other ground-performing birds-of-paradise, like to keep a clean court, tossing leaves, twigs, moss, etc., as the stage will be judged by the observing female(s). The presentation of leaves is used as a "badge of ownership" to rid of prospecting males; this behavior is seen in Carola's parotia displays, to which one of the most complex courtship sequences in the avian realm belongs. The perch pivots include the flank feathers fluffed out to where they form a semi-circle around the body, as well as the head and tail cocked, all while abruptly jerking the body from side to side. Other courtship behaviors include flexing of the frontal crest, hopping, bowing, shaking of chin feathers, and raising of flank plumes.

History

Many unknown ''Parotia'' specimens arose in Europe in the late 1800s and were owned by Berlepch. Unlike

, the specimens kept by Berlepsch had smaller bills with more of a prominent hooked tip, different plumage figures, and very slight size difference. The specimen was given its current scientific name to honor its owner in 1897.

Rediscovery

Previously known only from four specimens, the home of this little known bird-of-paradise was located in 1985 by the American scientist

Jared Diamond Jared Mason Diamond (born September 10, 1937) is an American scientist, historian, and author. In 1985 he received a MacArthur Genius Grant, and he has written hundreds of scientific and popular articles and books. His best known is '' Guns, G ...

at the

Foja Mountains The Foja Mountains (Foja Range, Foya Mountains) () are located just north of the Mamberamo river basin in Papua, Indonesia. The mountains rise to , and have 3,000 square kilometers of old growth tropical rainforest in the interior part of the r ...

of Papua,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. Diamond encountered only the female of this species. In December 2005, an international team of eleven scientists from the United States, Australia and Indonesia, led by

and

Conservation International Conservation International (CI) is an American nonprofit environmental organization headquartered in Crystal City, Virginia, in Arlington County, Virginia. CI's work focuses on science, policy and partnership with businesses, governments and co ...

vice-president

Bruce Beehler Bruce McPherson Beehler (born October 11, 1951, in Baltimore) is an ornithologist and research associate of the Bird Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Prior to this appointment, Beehler worked for Conse ...

traveled to the unexplored areas of Foja Mountains and rediscovered the bronze parotia among other little known and new species. The first photographs of them were taken during the rediscovery.http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4688000.stm.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q386041

bronze parotia The bronze parotia (''Parotia berlepschi''), also known as the Foja parotia, Berlepsch's parotia or Berlepsch's six-wired bird-of-paradise, is a species of bird-of-paradise, in the family Paradisaeidae. It resembles and is often considered to be a ...

Birds of Western New Guinea Endemic birds of Indonesia