Barnes's astrapia

Hybrid bird

Barnes's astrapia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Paradisaeidae
Genus:	Astrapia
Species:	**A. stephaniae × A. mayeri**
Synonyms
Astrarchia barnesi Astrapia barnesi

Barnes's astrapia, also known as Barnes's long-tailed bird-of-paradise or Barnes's long-tail, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae and the genus Astrapia that is a likely hybrid between Stephanie's astrapia (A. stephaniae) and the ribbon-tailed astrapia (A. mayeri).

Description

Barnes's astrapia is similar in appearance to both parent species, though closer to a ribbon-tailed astrapia. Males have two very long white and black tail feathers, glossy blue head and neck, small beak and a black body. Females have fewer blue feathers on their head as well as shorter tails.

Taxonomy

Until 1930, Barnes's astrapia (and all the other hybrid birds-of-paradise) were thought to be species and were named as such. Barnes's astrapia was named Astrarchia barnesi by Iredale in 1948, under the presumption that it is a species.^[1]

Distribution

Barnes's astrapia lives in the montane forest of Papua New Guinea, where the ranges of the parent species overlap on a small part of the Hagen Range and Mount Giluwe, usually at 2,300–2,600 m asl.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

^ Iredale (1948).

References

Iredale, Tom (1948). "A check list of the birds of paradise and bowerbirds". Australian Zoologist. 11: 161–189.
Peckover, William S. (1990). Papua New Guinea, Birds of Paradise. Brown: Carina.
International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.