Chlamydera cerviniventris
Plumage is brownish-olive above, slightly paler and greyer on crown, with pale dirty off-white to buff shaft streaks and spotting on feather centres and tips, latter more buff on rump and upper nail-coverts; forehead, lores, side of face and neck irregularly marked with off-whitish streaking and feather tipping; flight-feathers and tail like upperparts, primaries, secondaries and tertials with pale buff leading edges, rectrices with similarly pale outer edging and broad tips; chin, throat and chest pale buff, feathers broadly edged dusky grey-brown to produce streaking, especially across chest; remaining underparts clean pale cinnamon; underside of flight-feathers pale brownish-grey; in worn plumage, lacks larger pale tips on back and wing-covert feathers: iris dark brown; bill blackish; legs greyish-brown to blackish. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly heavier than female. Juvenile undescribed; immature first-year plumage distinguished from adult by rounder outer web of first primary, more crown spotting, and more fulvous colour of back spotting: subadult like adult.
Not Threatened
29 cm; male 145-182 g, female 117-170 g. Plumage is brownish-olive above, slightly paler and greyer on crown, with pale dirty off-white to buff shaft streaks and spotting on feather centres and tips, latter more buff on rump and upper nail-coverts; forehead, lores, side of face and neck irregularly marked with off-whitish streaking and feather tipping; flight-feathers and tail like upperparts, primaries, secondaries and tertials with pale buff leading edges, rectrices with similarly pale outer edging and broad tips; chin, throat and chest pale buff, feathers broadly edged dusky grey-brown to produce streaking, especially across chest; remaining under parts clean pale cinnamon; underside of flight-feathers pale brownish-grey; in worn plumage, lacks larger pale tips on back and wing-covert feathers: iris dark brown; bill blackish; legs greyish-brown to blackish. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly heavier than female. Juvenile undescribed; immature first-year plumage distinguished from adult by rounder outer web of first primary, more crown spotting, and more fulvous colour of back spotting: sub adult like adult.
29 cm; male 145-182 g, female 117-170 g
Taxonomy: Chlamydera cerviniventris Gould, 1850, Cape York, north Queensland, Australia. Both sexes of Australian population heavier than New Guinea ones, but differences considered insufficient to warrant naming of geographical races. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
NW & E New Guinea (Ransiki and Kebar valleys, in E Vogelkop; and coasts from Jayapura in N and, in S, from Merauke E, including isolates in Jimi valley and Aiyura valley, to SE mountains); and N Queensland (from N tip of Cape York Peninsula S on in E coastal zone to Massy Creek area, E of Coen), in extreme NE Australia.
In New Guinea found in lowland to hill forest patches and in eucalypt-paperbark (Eucalyptus melahuca) woodland in savannah and other light woodland and scrub in extensive savannah and grassland, or forest and mangrove edges abutting it; also larger grassy areas within forest, and in parks, gardens and leak plantations; sea-level to 500 m, locally to 1700 m. In Australia occupies mangroves end Melaleuca bordering them, as well as open and closed forest (where It meets C. nuchalis)', sea-level to 100 m. Traditional bower sites beneath low bushes in open savannah or woodland, just inside edge of gallery forest or mangroves, or within tall secondary growth.
Little known. Diet fruits and insects. Nestlings fed with fruits and insects, including caterpillars and beetles (Coleoptera). Forages mostly in trees and shrubs. Observed to sally-hover to snatch fruit. Solitary, in twos and in small groups.
Breeds in all months in New Guinea, peak months varying regionally, and in Sept-Dec, laying mostly Nov, in Australia; display season 8-9 months of each year, mainly Jun-Dec. Polygynous, promiscuous male building and decorating avenue bower; female builds and attends nest alone. Non-territorial, except for defence of bower site by male; average distance between bowers 500 m. Male builds new bower every season within same site, often in same undergrowth, close to previous one; bower avenue built atop substantially deep, long base of sticks that extends beyond each avenue entrance to form elevated platforms (one usually larger and better formed than the other), varies in size and dimensions, base up to 170 cm long, 80 cm wide and 60 cm thick, avenue atop this up to 36 cm long and 28 cm high externally, with central avenue 9 cm wide, avenue compass orientation variable; bower decorations (up to 100 or more) include green fruits, usually in small bunches, seed pods, unopened flower buds, and green leaves; male "paints" bower, and bower destruction occurs. Courtship not well known, but postures include Nape-presentation, in part similar to that of C. lauterbachi and other congeners; bunch of fruits sometimes held in bill; soft but harsh vocalizations, including avian vocal mimicry. Nest a fairly large foundation of sticks, vine tendrils, sometimes with strips of bark, lined with finer twiglets, a few curly vine tendrils and/ or sometimes dry grass stems, built up to 10 m above ground in large tree, bush or shrub, or in mangrove; mean distance of six active nests from nearest active bower 143 m; site may be reused habitually over years. Clutch 1 egg; no information on incubation period; one nestling in nest 21 days before leaving it.