Vogelkop

 "Vogelkop"



 The dancing bird

Vogelkop superb bird of paradise


Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Family: Paradisaeidae

Genus: Lophorina

Species: L. niedda

Binomial name:- Lophorina niedda

Synonyms:- Lophorina superba niedda


About:-

The Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise or crescent-caped lophorina (Lophorina niedda), sometimes noted as the curl-caped bird-of-paradise, is a species of Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. It is endemic to the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea (Vogelkop in Dutch). First described in 1930 by Ernst Mayr, it had been treated as a subspecies of the superb bird-of-paradise but was elevated to the status of a full species in 2018 based on its striking black plumage that its feathers absorb 99.95 percent of light and behavioral differences especially visible in the courting male, as shown in audiovisual data documented by Scholes and Timothy Laman of Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.


Etymology:-

The Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise's scientific name consists of the words lophorina, meaning "tuft/crest-nose", referring to the upward-standing tufts of feathers behind each nostril, and niedda which refers to the native onomatopoeic name for a bird-of-paradise. The subspecies, L. n. inopinata's specific name means unexpected or unlooked for.


 Taxonomy:-

Historical sources generally recorded the Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise as being a subspecies of the superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba niedda); however, some taxonomists argued that they were separate species altogether. In 2018, the Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise was confirmed to be a separate species to the superb bird-of-paradise. This was because of several differences in courtship behavior, as well as their geographic isolation from the rest of the population. There are two known subspecies: L. n. niedda, found on the Wadammen Peninsula; and L. n. inopinata, found on Doberai Peninsula .


Distribution and habitat:-

The Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise is found in the mountains of Bird's Neck Peninsula, in Western New Guinea, Indonesia. It is typically found at heights of 1200-2000 m.

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