LOPHORINA (SUPERB BIRDS-OF-PARADISE): CHARACTERISTICS, SPECIES AND WILD COURTSHIP DANCES

LOPHORINA

lesser lophorina

Lophorina or superb bird-of-paradise is a genus of birds in the family Paradisaeidae, which includes all birds-of-paradise. The genus contains three species according to a widely accepted 2017 designation by Swedish ornithologist Martin Irestedt:1) the Greater lophorina (Lophorina superba); 2) Crescent-caped lophorina (Lophorina niedda); and 3) Lesser lophorina, (Lophorina minor). Another taxonomy splits the superb bird-of-paradise into three species with different names and slightly different species history: 1) Vogelkop lophorina (Lophorina superba); 2) Greater lophorina (Lophorina latipennis); and 3) Lesser lophorina (Lophorina minor). [Source: Wikipedia]

Lophorina is Greek for “crested nose”, a reference to feathers at the base of the upper bill. Within the Lophorina genus males are black and iridescent blue, have male’s specialized display feathers (described below) and are able to totally their transform shape. Females are brown and don’t have the male’s specialized display feathers. The males’ displays is called “shape shifting”. On a fallen log, they transform their shape into a wide oval with iridescent “smiley face” and hop around to impress females while snapping their wings.

Lophorina generally are found in the highlands of New Guinea at elevations from 1525 meters to 1980 meters (5,000 to 6,500 feet). The males of all three species have a distinctive cape found on their that they can push forward, an iridescent blue-green crown, and an iridescent blue-greenish breast shield that appears to be "smiling" on the Greater lophorina and "frowning" Crescent-caped lophorina when the males do their courtship dance for females.

During their courtship dance, males tend to start by crouching and showing a repeated display of their breast shield and an exaggerated downward movement to show their crown to the female. During high intensity displays, male also fan their nape cape, forming a semi-circle overhead, and around breast shield, all while hopping around the female. When doing full display, males create a strange kind of black face, with blue eyes and a blue mouth as they hop and dance around a female.

Lesser Lophorina

male greater lophorina courtship display

Lesser lophorina(Lophorina minor) are also known as the lesser superb bird-of-paradise and rasping bird-of-paradise. They are a species of passerine bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae endemic to Papua New Guinea. They are sometimes considered a subspecies of the greater lophorina.

Lesser lophorina live mainly in mid-montane forests in the Bird's Tail Peninsula of Papua New Guinea not so far from Port Moresby. Small populations have also been documented around Mt. Hagen in central Papua New Guinea. They formerly considered a subspecies of greater lophorina (superb bird-of-paradise) , and elevated to species rank in 2017.[2]

Lesser lophorina are fairly large birds. Males are mainly black plumage with two remarkable erectile fans which are lifted up over the head during their display. Metallic, blue-green, trapezium-shaped breast shield and patches are situated above the eyes. Female have a dark brown back, barred underparts and a black head. Males are unmistakable. Females are distinguished from Lawes’s Parotia female by slightly smaller size and black eyes, and from female Magnificent Bird-of-Paradise by their black bill. The male’s yellow-green interior of the mouth is visible whilst it gives its piercing nasal screech.

Greater Lophorina

Greater lophorina(Lophorina superba) are also known as greater superb bird-of-paradise and Vogelkop lophorina. Vogelkop is Dutch and Indonesian name for the come from the Bird's Head Peninsula of northwest New Guinea. This species in the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. was considered the sole species in its genus until in 2017 when three species in the genus were recognized. There is still some debate — and confusion — about the species designations. One taxonomy calls Lophorina superba Vogelkop lophorina and uses the common name Greater lophorina to refer to Lophorina latipennis. [Source: Wikipedia, Australian Museum]

range of the greater lophorina

In any case, greater lophorina (Lophorina superba) are a small birds-of-paradise that mainly feed on fruit, insects and other arthropods. Adult males averages 26 centimeters long; females, 25 centimeters. Males are jet black with an iridescent green crown, blue-green breast cover and a long velvety black erectile cape covering their back. Their cape of elongated nape feathers fans out symmetrically when raised. Females are a reddish-brown bird with brownish barred buff below. Young look similar females.

Greater lophorina live patches scattered across northern and central New Guinea on both the Indonesian and Papuan New Guinea sides. They can be found in the central mountains, Vogelkop and Huon Peninsulas, Adelbert and Hunstein Mountains, and Mount Bosavi in mid to upper montane rainforests, disturbed forests, forest edges and patches in gardens and other cleared areas at elevations of 1000 to 2300 meters (3,300 to 7,545 feet), mainly at 1650 to 1900 (5415 to 6233 feet). They like the top of rainforest trees.

Greater Lophorina Reproduction and Courtship Display

Greater lophorina are polygynous, with at least some males mating with more than one female. The peak breeding season is usually from August to January, but breeding has been recorded all months of the year. During this time solitary males disperse across forest and are very territorial around traditional perches that are used year after year. Females build and attend their nests alone. Incubation is about 18-19 days; nestling about 18 days. Hybridisation known with Long-tailed Paradigallas, Western and Carola’s Parotias, Black Sicklebills and Magnificent Riflebirds.

Greater lophorina have unusually low numbers of females, which competition amont males for mates is be particularly fierce. This may at least party explain why these birds have one of the most bizarre and elaborate courtship displays in the avian world, involving crouching, repeated displaying of breast shield and exaggerated downward movements. During high intensity displays, males fans out their nape cape, forming semicircle over head and around breast shield, while hopping around female.

Sarah Gibbens wrote in National Geographic: It's hard to find a more superb bird than the superb bird-of-paradise. Males have an elaborate courtship ritual, during which they spread out their black cape until only a bright blue breast plate and blue eyes are visible in an all-absorbing blackness. Then he puts on a dance, moving around a female in semi-circle motions until she's wooed. [Source: Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, April 18, 2018]

Before the display the male carefully and meticulously prepares a "dance floor" that sometimes involves scrubbing the dirt or branch smooth with leaves. The male first attempts to attract a female with a loud call. If a curious female shows up, the male’s folded black feather cape and blue-green breast shield spring upward and spreads widely and symmetrically around the male’s head — transforming the frontal view of the bird into a spectacular ellipse-shaped creature that rhythmically snaps its tail feathers against each other, similar to how snapping fingers work, whilst hopping in frantic circles around the female. The average female rejects 15-20 potential suitors before consenting to mate. The show that males put on to attract females can be a long process that takes up many hours in a day.

Vogelkop Lophorina— the New Bird-of-Paradise Species

Vogelkop lophorina (Lophorina niedda) are also known as crescent-caped lophorina, Vogelkop superb birds-of-paradise and curl-caped birds-of-paradise. They are a species of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family endemic to the Vogelkop (Bird's Head) Peninsula of northwest Indonesian New Guinea. First described in 1930 by Ernst Mayr, they were regarded as a subspecies of the superb bird-of-paradise (greater lophorina) but were elevated to the status of a full species in 2018 based on their striking black plumage, with feathers that absorb 99.95 percent of light, and behavioral differences, which are most visible during the courting male diplay, as shown in films made by Scholes and Timothy Laman of Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.

The 2018 designation of Vogelkop lophorina as a separate species was also based on their geographic isolation from other lophorina populations. Distribution and habitat The Vogelkop lophorina is found in the mountains of Bird's Neck Peninsula, in Western New Guinea, Indonesia. They are typically found at heights of 1200-2000 meter (3940 to 6560). There are two known subspecies: L. n. niedda, found on the Wadammen Peninsula; and L. n. inopinata, found on the Doberai Peninsula. Like the great lophorina, the Vogelkop lophorina has some of the blackest coloring on Earth. The microscopic structure of their feathers absorbs almost 100 percent of the light hitting them. Both species have bright blue markings that form what look like cartoonish faces when they do their courtship dances.

After Vogelkop lophorina was announced as a new species, Nina Strochlic wrote in National Geographic: A fallen tree in a forest may seem unremarkable — but to some birds-of-paradise, it’s the ideal stage for a mating dance. Edwin Scholes, who runs Cornell’s Birds-of-Paradise Project, and Tim Laman, a biologist and National Geographic photographer, were doing research in the Arfak Mountains of western New Guinea when they found a downed log and set up a camera in hopes of catching a courtship display. The bird that appeared was different from others of its species, says Scholes: Its feathers fanned into a unique crescent shape, and it had distinctive moves, “like a Latin dance where all the motion is below the hips.” What he and Laman observed confirmed a previous discovery of genetic variation. Last year they announced a new species: the Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise. Such sightings may benefit the region, says Scholes, by encouraging ecotourism that provides a “new economic incentive to keep the forest intact.” [Source: Nina Strochlic, National Geographic, October 2018]

Discovery of Vogelkop Lophorina as a New Species

In paper published in 2018 in the journal PeerJ, ornithologist Edwin Scholes and photographer Tim Laman detailed how and why the Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise (Vogelkop lophorina) was established as a new species. Sarah Gibbens wrote in National Geographic: A combination of fieldwork and museum analysis led to the conclusion that the Vogelkop is genetically distinct from the superb bird-of-paradise species, which is now named the greater superb bird-of-paradise. The new species' German name, which translates to “bird's head,” was inspired by an isolated region of Indonesian New Guinea that's said to resemble a bird head on a map and was once a German colony.[Source: Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, April 18, 2018

Scholes and Laman first noticed the Vogelkop's unusual vocalizations in 2009. The song was “radically different than the one we were familiar with,” Scholes says. Their suspicions gained traction when, in 2016, a group of independent researchers found genetic variances in superb bird museum specimens, indicating the presence of distinct species.

Armed with the new genetic find, Scholes and Laman went in search of field evidence. Living in their forest base camps for up to months at a time, the team logged observed physical differences between greater superb and Vogelkop superb birds-of-paradise that confirmed they're separate. For instance, Vogelkop birds' feathery hoods have a different shape. Our evidence of how distinctive it is has cinched the deal,” he says.

Courtship Dance and Nesting of Vogelkop Lophorina

There are two main stages of the Vogelkop lophorina courtship display. The first display, known as the initial display activity, involves a series of relatively simple behaviours. The initial display is then followed by a more elaborate courtship show, known as the high-intensity display. For the most part the courtship dance of the Vogelkop lophorina is similar to that of the greater lophorina (See Above)

But there are some difference. Sarah Gibbens wrote in National Geographic: For instance, during its dance, the greater superb deeply bends its knees and bounces. The Vogelkop, however, shuffles its feet in quick little motions, effectively gliding from side to side. “It looks like somebody has wound up a child's toy and put it on a smooth floor,” says Scholes from Cornell's Lab of Ornithology. The birds also sing slightly different songs: While the superb makes a loud squawking noise, the Vogelkop has a more pleasant, tonal call.[Source: Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, April 18, 2018]

Vogelkop lophorina females make their nest on top of trees using soft material that they find around the forest such as leaves. They usually produces one to three eggs. It takes about 16–22 days for chicks to hatch from the eggs. After that, chicks are able to live on their own within 16–30 days, leaving their nest and becoming independent. Male superb birds-of-paradise tend to take about two years longer to mature compared to the females, and it takes 4–7 years for them to develop their feathers for their courtship displays.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated February 2025