Large paradisaeid with elongated feathers of nape and lower neck finely pointed, those above eyes forming conspicuous erectile occipital ear-tufts; fairly long tail slightly graduated, Male nominate race has head, neck and nape blue-black with green-blue iridescence, slight violet-purple sheen on rear crown; smooth-plumaged and iridescent blue mantle, back, rump, uppertail-coverts and uppertail with slightest yellow-green wash and heavy violet-purple sheen; rectrices with tiny hair-like central points at tips; intense iridescent deep violet-purple upperwing with indistinct blue sheen and edging on wing-coverts and leniais; blackish-brown primaries with narrow iridescent blue outer edges; iridescent oily green-blue upper breast, remaining underparts with purplish sheen, vent and undenail-coverts duller and less iridescent; iris red. fine inner ring of dark brown; bill and legs blackish to black; mouth blackish. Female is slightly smaller than male, somewhat duller on underparts, with head and neck hackles on average reduced in length, iris more orange. Juvenile is blackish with slight steely blue-green gloss, but no purple on back, wings or tail, elongate feathers scarcely indicated; immature dull blackish, particularly on head, with only slight bluish-green iridescence on upperparts and breast but duller on wines and belly (younger birds with iridescent sheen on underparts), iris greyish-brown to brownislwed to reddish-oranae (redder with increasing age); brighter Iridescent plumage and longer ear-tuft feathers gradually acquired with age. Race jamesii throat and breast dark metallic blue, washed greenish, locking purple of nominate, and with longer occipital tufts; aruensis is less green than nominate, differs from previous in being darker and bluer, less green, upperparts (particularly back) suffused purple, lanceolate head feathering more cobalt-blue, occipital tufts much shorter (similar in length to nominate); neumanni is like similar-sized nominate, but lower back. rump, tail and upperwing dark blackish-blue, washed iridescent violet-purple (rather than greenish), breast and belly dark metallic blue, occipital tufts on average shorter than all races except adeiberti (tufts of which comparable in length); adelberti differs from nominate in having short occipital tufts and greenish (not blue or purple) upperwing and tail; purpureoviolaceus is like nominate but larger, with back, breast and belly iridescent violet-purplish, and occipital tufts far longer; diamondi is similar to previous, but distinct in having back, upperwing and tail with strong violet-purple sheen, breast and belly dark metallic blue with little or no violet-purple, and lanceolate head feathering bluish-green (as opposed to greenish-blue) washed violet-purple, occipital tufts slightly longer (thus longer than in all other races); hunsteini is larger than all preceding races, with longer occipital tufts that are less blue and more green, and back, rump and uppertail dark bluish-purple (less green);gouldii is like nominate, but iridescence more green (less purple), particularly so on upperwing and tail, occipital-tuft feathers more narrowly pointed and much longer, also relative tail length much longer.
Not Threatened
Large paradisaeid with elongated feathers of nape and lower neck finely pointed, those above eyes forming conspicuous erectile occipital ear-tufts; fairly long tail slightly graduated, Male nominate race has head, neck and nape blue-black with green-blue iridescence, slight violet-purple sheen on rear crown; smooth-plumaged and iridescent blue mantle, back, rump, uppertail-coverts and uppertail with slightest yellow-green wash and heavy violet-purple sheen; rectrices with tiny hair-like central points at tips; intense iridescent deep violet-purple upperwing with indistinct blue sheen and edging on wing-coverts and leniais; blackish-brown primaries with narrow iridescent blue outer edges; iridescent oily green-blue upper breast, remaining underparts with purplish sheen, vent and undenail-coverts duller and less iridescent; iris red. fine inner ring of dark brown; bill and legs blackish to black; mouth blackish. Female is slightly smaller than male, somewhat duller on underparts, with head and neck hackles on average reduced in length, iris more orange. Juvenile is blackish with slight steely blue-green gloss, but no purple on back, wings or tail, elongate feathers scarcely indicated; immature dull blackish, particularly on head, with only slight bluish-green iridescence on upperparts and breast but duller on wines and belly (younger birds with iridescent sheen on underparts), iris greyish-brown to brownislwed to reddish-oranae (redder with increasing age); brighter Iridescent plumage and longer ear-tuft feathers gradually acquired with age. Race jamesii throat and breast dark metallic blue, washed greenish, locking purple of nominate, and with longer occipital tufts; aruensis is less green than nominate, differs from previous in being darker and bluer, less green, upperparts (particularly back) suffused purple, lanceolate head feathering more cobalt-blue, occipital tufts much shorter (similar in length to nominate); neumanni is like similar-sized nominate, but lower back. rump, tail and upperwing dark blackish-blue, washed iridescent violet-purple (rather than greenish), breast and belly dark metallic blue, occipital tufts on average shorter than all races except adeiberti (tufts of which comparable in length); adelberti differs from nominate in having short occipital tufts and greenish (not blue or purple) upperwing and tail; purpureoviolaceus is like nominate but larger, with back, breast and belly iridescent violet-purplish, and occipital tufts far longer; diamondi is similar to previous, but distinct in having back, upperwing and tail with strong violet-purple sheen, breast and belly dark metallic blue with little or no violet-purple, and lanceolate head feathering bluish-green (as opposed to greenish-blue) washed violet-purple, occipital tufts slightly longer (thus longer than in all other races); hunsteini is larger than all preceding races, with longer occipital tufts that are less blue and more green, and back, rump and uppertail dark bluish-purple (less green);gouldii is like nominate, but iridescence more green (less purple), particularly so on upperwing and tail, occipital-tuft feathers more narrowly pointed and much longer, also relative tail length much longer.
Male 31cm, 130-240g; female 28cm,130-182g
Taxonomy: Barita Keraudrenii Lesson and Garnot, 1826, Dorey, north-western New Guinea. Sometimes placed in a monotypic genus, Phonygammus. Sympatric with M. ater, M. jobiensis or M. chalybatus at various localities, but no cases of hybridization recorded. Race hunsteini has been considered possibly a separate species. Proposed race mayri (described from Wau, in NE New Guinea) synonymized with purpureoviolaceus, but may, like many other Huon Peninsula forms, prove to be distinct; further study required. Birds of Mamberamo R area not yet assigned to any subspecies. Nine subspecies currently recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * keraudrenii ( Lesson & Garnot, 1826) - W New Guinea (Vogelkop, Onin Peninsula and Weyland Mts). * aruensis ( Cracraft, 1992) - Aru Is. * jamesii ( Sharpe, 1877) - lowlands of S New Guinea from Mimika R to Port Moresby, including islands in N Torres Strait (Boigu and Saibai). * neumanni ( Reichenow, 1918) - N coastal ranges and scarp of Central Range from Bewani, Torricelli Mts and Lordberg E to Schrader Range and Jimi R and Baiyer R watersheds (Sepik-Wahgi Divide), in E New Guinea. * adelberti ( Gilliard & LeCroy, 1967) - Adelbert Mts, in NE New Guinea. * diamondi ( Cracraft, 1992) - S watershed of Eastern Highlands (from near Okapa, possibly including portions of Kratke Range), in E New Guinea. * purpureoviolaceus ( A. B. Meyer, 1885) - uplands of SE New Guinea E from Kuper Range and Wau through Owen Stanley Range (distributional details not well delineated). * hunsteini ( Sharpe, 1882) - D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago (Goodenough, Fergusson and Normanby). * gouldii G. R. Gray, 1859 - extreme NE Australia (NE Cape York Peninsula, and immediately adjacent Albany I and Mai I).
Lowland rainforest, hill forest and middle montane forest; inhabitant of rainforest interior, rarely at forest edge or in second growth. Found at 200-2000 m, mainly 900-1800 m, throughout most of New Guinea range; some New Guinea races primarily lowland-dwelling, others in hill and middle montane forests. In Australia, lowland forests, occasionally in mangroves, and on small offshore islands.
Mostly fruits, especially figs; also invertebrates, including insects, spiders, small gastropods. Nestling diet at one nest at least 90% fig pieces, Forages mostly in middle 10 upper levels of forest. Fruit-foraging birds consist of a pair, or aggregations of up to ten in trees. On lower mountain slopes occurs in mixed-species foraging flocks, including female-plumaged Paradisaea and flocks based upon New Guinea and Rusty Pitohuis.
Season at least May-Jan over entire range; males with enlarged gonads in Feb-Apr and Jul-Dec and females in Jun and Oct—Nov; displays noted May and Aug, and calls thought indicative of display produced in all months; copulation seen in mid-Nov. Monogamous pair-bonding, some pairs persist for more than one season; non-terrilorial, Display solitary, in tree branches, involves a chase, frontal lunging display, opening of wings, raising of fanned tail, erection of neck hackles, and loud harsh call. Nest is an open basin-shaped structure of curly vine tendrils, lined with fine creeping fern tendrils, sparser than in those of congeners and lacking larger leaves or pieces of dry wood; suspended 6-27 m above ground in horizontally forking tree branch, around which vine tendrils of nest rim entwined; nesting association with pairs of Black Butcherbirds recorded in Australia. Clutch 1-2 eggs: incubation performed by both parents, and both also brood and feed the nestlings; no information available on duration of incubation and nestling periods.