Ribbon-tailed astrapia

Astrapia mayeri

Photo by Mark Harper (Wikipedia)

Common name:
ribbon-tailed astrapia (en); ave-do-paraíso-de-fitas (pt); paradisier à rubans (fr); ave del paraíso cola de moños (es); schmalschwanz-paradieselster (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Paradisaeidae

Range:
This species is endemic to the central mountains of Papua-New Guinea, from the Strickland River to Mt Hagen and Mt Giluwe.

Size:
These birds are 32 cm long, but the tails feather in an adult male can grow up to 1 m long. They weigh 130-150 g.

Habitat:
The ribbon-tailed astrapia is only found in mountain rainforests, at altitudes of 2.400-3.400 m.

Diet:
They feed on fruits, particularly those of Scheflera, and also insects and other invertebrates.

Breeding:
Ribbon-tailed astrapias as polygynous, with the males performing elaborate displays to attract females after which they have no further part in the breeding process. They place their nest in a small isolated tree and the female lays a single eggs which she incubated for 21 days. the chick fledges 26-30 days after hatching.

Conservation:
IUCN status - NT (Near-Threatened)
This species has a relatively small breeding range, but it is described as fairly common to locally abundant. There are no data on population trends, but the ribbon-tailed astrapia is thought to be in slow decline owing to on-going habitat degradation.