Dark, with basal upper ridge of culmen sharply keeled, gape wide, and tail graduated. Male nominate race has velvety black plumage with purple and/or magenta sheens; fine scale-like lores; head iridescent metallic green-blue, washed purplish; tertials iridescent green-blue to blue, washed purple to magenta; iris dark brown; bill shiny black, conspicuous bare gape-flanges and mouth interior yellowish-white sometimes with pale pink or green hue; legs dark olive-brown to blackish. Female differs radically from male in having olive-green plumage, notably browner on wings and tail, more yellowish on belly, and no gape-flanges; also on average fractionally smaller. Juvenile is grey, this plumage worn only briefly; immature male similar in plumage to adult female, has more pointed, longer rectrices than adult male, acquires shorter tail progressively with age; subadult male varies from being like adult female but with few feathers of adult male plumage intruding, to being like adult male with few feathers of female-like plumage remaining, Race amethysdinus differs from nominate in that male has violet-purple iridescent upper tertiais, female slightly longer tail; inexpectatus male has much more green iridescence on tertials. female has slightly shorter tail.
Not Threatened
Dark, with basal upper ridge of culmen sharply keeled, gape wide, and tail graduated. Male nominate race has velvety black plumage with purple and/or magenta sheens; fine scale-like lores; head iridescent metallic green-blue, washed purplish; tertials iridescent green-blue to blue, washed purple to magenta; iris dark brown; bill shiny black, conspicuous bare gape-flanges and mouth interior yellowish-white sometimes with pale pink or green hue; legs dark olive-brown to blackish. Female differs radically from male in having olive-green plumage, notably browner on wings and tail, more yellowish on belly, and no gape-flanges; also on average fractionally smaller. Juvenile is grey, this plumage worn only briefly; immature male similar in plumage to adult female, has more pointed, longer rectrices than adult male, acquires shorter tail progressively with age; subadult male varies from being like adult female but with few feathers of adult male plumage intruding, to being like adult male with few feathers of female-like plumage remaining, Race amethysdinus differs from nominate in that male has violet-purple iridescent upper tertiais, female slightly longer tail; inexpectatus male has much more green iridescence on tertials. female has slightly shorter tail.
22 cm; male 75-101 g, female 60-96 g.
Taxonomy: Loria loriae Salvadori, 1894, Moroka, Owen Stanley Range, New Guinea. This genus and Loboparadisea sometimes united in a separate family, Cnemophilidae. Species sometimes placed in a monotypic genus, Loria. Sympatric with C. macgregorii at c. 2600 m on Mt Hagen and 2200-2650 m in Ambua Range, but hybridization unrecorded. Three subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * inexpectatus ( Junge, 1939) - W & C ranges (including Weyland, Nassau, Oranje, Hindenberg and Victor Emanuel Mts) of New Guinea. * amethystinus ( Stresemann, 1934) - Schraderberg, Wahgi Divide, Bismarck Range, Kubor Range, Mt Hagen and Giluwe Range (also, presumably, Mt Bosavi) in E New Guinea. * loriae ( Salvadori, 1894) - Herzog and Kuper ranges (E of Watut/Tauri Gap) SE through Owen Stanley Range to Mt Dayman, in SE New Guinea.
Middle montane to upper montane forests, forest edge and second growth; 1500-3000 m, mostly 2000-2400 m.
Fruits, mostly simple drupes/berries plucked and swallowed whole, without manipulation by bill or feet; earthworms also eaten. Fruits harvested in middle and lower storeys of forest and forest edge. Usually forages alone, but groups of 3—4 (rarely, up to ten) female-plumaged birds, sometimes with an adult male or other bird-of-paradise species, recorded in fruiting tree.
Breeding Nov-Feb; an egg laid early Jan near Tari (E New Guinea); display season undefined, but singing noted Mar, Jul and Sept-Jan (various localities), end a display seen in Oct. Polygynous: presumed solitary, promiscuous male attends traditional advertisement-singing perches; females build and attend nest alone. Solitary courtship on bare or foiiaged exposed canopy perch; mostly static simple display postures that exhibit iridescent lore feathering and pale gape-flanges and/or mouth interior; an inverted display with regular clicking noise (probably made with bill) and with quivering half-opened wings. Nest a substantial globular domed structure with horizontally ovate entrance hole, externally of fresh moss and filmy fern fronds, inner chamber lined with supple fresh epiphytic orchid stems, c. 20-30 straight sticks placed into and on nest-entrance perch and within moss beneath; built at average of 1 -5 m above ground, blends cryptically with plants on adjacent surfaces; habitual use of some nest-sites. Clutch probably 1 egg; incubation at one nest c. 25 days; no information on nestling period.