Parotia carolae
Male nominate race has velvety jet-black head with coppery-bronze sheen, short erectile blackish-bronzed frontal crest tipped silver-white, jet-black elongate and vertically raised loral and foreface feathering from nostril to above eye; eye broadly encircled by iridescent coppery-gold feathering; feathering on slightly concave crown similar to that around eye, and immediately behind this a narrow nuchal bar of highly iridescent scale-like feathers that appear blue-green to purple and-'or magenta; behind each eye, from amid ear-tuft of elongate narrowly pointed feathers, three long erectile wire-like occipital plumes with relatively small spatulate tips; mantle to uppertail velvety jet-black with coppery-bronze sheen, including upperwing the same except for primaries and coverts, which brownish-black; chin dusky olive-brown, smudged blackish, with paler tips of elongate "whiskers" surrounded by malar area and throat of buff with golden sheen; lower central throat more whitish, flecked cinnamon, with fine long whiskers on each side, grading into otherwise discrete breast shield of large scale-like feathers with intense iridescence of bronzed yellow-green and/or magenta to pink (jet-black feather bases visible on lower side of shield); remaining central underparts, to undertail-coverts, blackish-brown with iridescent lustrous coppery sheen, becoming browner to dark reddish-brown adjacent to extensive patch of cotton-white elongate and inwardly curving flank plumes; iris sulphur-yellow; bill black, mouth colour apparently pale green; legs blackish-grey. Female is smaller than male (notably in wing length) but with tail longer; lacks head plumes and iridescence; plumage very different, brownish to grey-brown head with broad supercilium, moustachial and submoustachial stripes dirty white, flecked olive-brown, some paler flecks extending onto anterior ear-coverts, malar area olive-brown, upperparts and tail brown, upperwing with ochraceous chestnut area on exposed parts of flight-feathers and outer greater coverts, chin faintly barred greyish-brown, throat paler, underparts buff with blackish-brown barring; iris pale grey or cream to yellow (difference possibly age-related}, but confirmation required. Juvenile undescribed; immature male tike adult female, but iris pale grey; subadult male variable, like adult female but with few feathers of adult male plumage intruding, initially on head, to like adult male with few feathers of femalelike plumage remaining; male tail length decreases considerably with age. Race meeki is like nominate in size and appearance, but bill slightly larger, and chin and side of throat blackish; chalcothorax is like nominate, but occipital plumes significantly longer, upperparts with bright coppery sheen, underparts more coppery, and long loral feathering more brownish (less intensely black); clelandiae is like nominate, but upperparts darker, more jet-black (less brown), and on average larger, bill slightly shorter, and with longer occipital plumes (almost no overlap in length with nominate); chrysenia has tail longer than all other races, occipital plumes longer than all except chalcothorax, said to differ from nominate in having long black loral feathering with coppery sheen (like eyering but darker), but several specimens lack this (their lores being pure black). Females vary subtly with race, notably in extent of pale facial stripes and in overall colour saturation; further study required.
Not Threatened
Male nominate race has velvety jet-black head with coppery-bronze sheen, short erectile blackish-bronzed frontal crest tipped silver-white, jet-black elongate and vertically raised loral and foreface feathering from nostril to above eye; eye broadly encircled by iridescent coppery-gold feathering; feathering on slightly concave crown similar to that around eye, and immediately behind this a narrow nuchal bar of highly iridescent scale-like feathers that appear blue-green to purple and-'or magenta; behind each eye, from amid ear-tuft of elongate narrowly pointed feathers, three long erectile wire-like occipital plumes with relatively small spatulate tips; mantle to uppertail velvety jet-black with coppery-bronze sheen, including upperwing the same except for primaries and coverts, which brownish-black; chin dusky olive-brown, smudged blackish, with paler tips of elongate "whiskers" surrounded by malar area and throat of buff with golden sheen; lower central throat more whitish, flecked cinnamon, with fine long whiskers on each side, grading into otherwise discrete breast shield of large scale-like feathers with intense iridescence of bronzed yellow-green and/or magenta to pink (jet-black feather bases visible on lower side of shield); remaining central underparts, to undertail-coverts, blackish-brown with iridescent lustrous coppery sheen, becoming browner to dark reddish-brown adjacent to extensive patch of cotton-white elongate and inwardly curving flank plumes; iris sulphur-yellow; bill black, mouth colour apparently pale green; legs blackish-grey. Female is smaller than male (notably in wing length) but with tail longer; lacks head plumes and iridescence; plumage very different, brownish to grey-brown head with broad supercilium, moustachial and submoustachial stripes dirty white, flecked olive-brown, some paler flecks extending onto anterior ear-coverts, malar area olive-brown, upperparts and tail brown, upperwing with ochraceous chestnut area on exposed parts of flight-feathers and outer greater coverts, chin faintly barred greyish-brown, throat paler, underparts buff with blackish-brown barring; iris pale grey or cream to yellow (difference possibly age-related}, but confirmation required. Juvenile undescribed; immature male tike adult female, but iris pale grey; subadult male variable, like adult female but with few feathers of adult male plumage intruding, initially on head, to like adult male with few feathers of femalelike plumage remaining; male tail length decreases considerably with age. Race meeki is like nominate in size and appearance, but bill slightly larger, and chin and side of throat blackish; chalcothorax is like nominate, but occipital plumes significantly longer, upperparts with bright coppery sheen, underparts more coppery, and long loral feathering more brownish (less intensely black); clelandiae is like nominate, but upperparts darker, more jet-black (less brown), and on average larger, bill slightly shorter, and with longer occipital plumes (almost no overlap in length with nominate); chrysenia has tail longer than all other races, occipital plumes longer than all except chalcothorax, said to differ from nominate in having long black loral feathering with coppery sheen (like eyering but darker), but several specimens lack this (their lores being pure black). Females vary subtly with race, notably in extent of pale facial stripes and in overall colour saturation; further study required.
Male 26 cm, 205 u (one clelandiae); female 25 cm, 110-163 g
Taxonomy: Parotia carolae A. B. Meyer, 1894, "Amberno River" [Mamberamo River]; error = Weyland Mountains, New Guinea. Forms a superspecies with P. berlepschi, previously treated as conspecific. Intergeneric hybridization with Lophorina superba recorded; females of the two exhibit parallel geographical variation, one explanation being that smaller L. superba mimics larger and more aggressive present species. Five subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- * carolae A. B. Meyer, 1894 - Weyland Mts E to Wissel Lakes (Paniai) region, in W New Guinea. * meeki Rothschild, 1910 - Snow Mts, from E of Wissel Lakes and S of Doorman Mts (N scarp facing Mamberamo R), E to C New Guinea (around W edge of Victor Emanuel Range). * chalcothorax Stresemann, 1934 - Doorman Mts, just S of Idenburg R (Taritatu R), in W New Guinea. * chrysenia Stresemann, 1934 - N scarp of C Cordillera, including Lordberg, Hunstein Mts and probably Schrader Range, also N scarp of Bismarck Range, in E New Guinea. * clelandiae Gilliard, 1961 - from C New Guinea SE probably to S watershed of Eastern Highlands (E at least to Crater Mt).
Primary and secondary middle montane forests, also regrowth and abandoned gardens; 1100-2000 m, mainly 1450-1800 m.
Fruits and animals, but relative preferences unknown; leaf-eating recorded in captivity. Forages mainly in upper and middle storeys of forest; groups of adult males and individuals in female-like plumage recorded in fruiting trees and elsewhere. Seeks insects by probing.
Few data; female gonadal activity indicates breeding in at least Sept-Oct; display season in E New Guinea Jun, Jul and Oct (dry season) in Jimi R area and Ocl-Dec in Herowana area, Polygynous, promiscuous males seasonally maintaining terrestrial courts, dispersed to form exploded leks; female builds and attends nest alone. Courtship involves static and leg-fiexing postures, with complex movements of flank plumes, pectoral shield, mantle cape, nuchal crest and occipital plumes, both on court perches and on court floor (recent detailed field research revealed courtship of this species to be as complex as that of any other avian species, involving 58 distinct elements); male performs a Hopping-on-the-spot-like display on a court perch as female approaches (analogous to Bounce Display of P. lawesii and P, wahnesi). as well as alternate "sideways-facing” displays; basic pattern on ground initially like that of P. lawesii up to Initial Display Bow; courtship elements include Ballerina Display, and some feature the white area of flank plumes and fine detail of elaborate head plumage not found in other adult male pariotias. No information on nest, nest-site, eggs, incubation and nestling periods, and other aspects of breeding.