Tanysiptera danae
Male rufous-brown crown and black, bright pink rump, blue wing-coverts, pink chin and throat, richer deep pink breast and abdomen, paler flanks and under-tail coverts, purplish-blue tail under-part, central feather 9 cm longer, with white tips and narrow inner margins at base, lateral tail feather dusky grey, bill red, iris dark brown, legs and feet pink to orange-red. Female buff chin and throat. Juvenile browner crown, olive-brown upper-part, scaly Uunder-part, orange bill with brown at base.
Not Threatened.
Male rufous-brown crown and black, bright pink rump, blue wing-coverts, pink chin and throat, richer deep pink breast and abdomen, paler flanks and under-tail coverts, purplish-blue tail under-part, central feather 9 cm longer, with white tips and narrow inner margins at base, lateral tail feather dusky grey, bill red, iris dark brown, legs and feet pink to orange-red. Female buff chin and throat. Juvenile browner crown, olive-brown upper-part, scaly Uunder-part, orange bill with brown at base.
VOICE: 1-4 mournful whistles, becoming a trill, similar to that of T.danae but quicker, also “wheeyou” call very like T.galatea.
28-30 cm, including tail streamers, male 37-46 g, female 42-50 g
Taxonomy:
- Tanysiptera Danae Sharpe, 1880, Milne Bay, New Guinea. Forms a superspecies with T. nympha. Proposed race intensa (named from W of Dyke Acland Bay) invalid. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Distribution:
- SE New Guinea, from R Waria and R Aroa E to Alotau.
Dense primary forest, gallery and alluvium forest, and from Castanopsis forest, forest edges and secondary growth. This species and T.galatea seem to be mutually exclusive in some places, but elsewhere both occur together.
Insect including beetles and caterpillars. Perches relatively higher in the forest than T. galatea.
No information, but higher intensity of calling is from May to Oct.
