| Lophorina | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lesser lophorina (Lophorina minor) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paradisaeidae |
| Genus: | Lophorina Vieillot, 1816 |
| Type species | |
| Paradisea superba (Vogelkop lophorina) Pennant, 1781 | |
Lophorina is agenus of birds in the birds-of-paradise familyParadisaeidae that are endemic to New Guinea, formerly containing a single species, but as of 2017, containing three species.
The genusLophorina was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologistLouis Pierre Vieillot for a single species,Paradisea superba, theVogelkop lophorina. This is now thetype species.[1][2] The genus name combines theAncient Greeklophos meaning "crest" or "tuft" withrhis,rhinos meaning "nostrils.[3] The genus formerly contained a single species, the superb bird-of-paradise, which had five subspecies.[4][5][6] In 2017 the Swedish ornithologist Martin Irestedt and collaborators suggested that the superb bird-of-paradise should be split into three species. They also proposed aneotype from theKobowre Mountains inNew Guinea for the no longer extanttype specimen forParadisea superba. The original type specimen forsuperba had been assumed to come from theBird's Head Peninsula (known as Vogelkop in Dutch and Indonesian).[7] Although, the split was generally supported by other ornithologists, the designation of the neotype and the resulting assignment of subspecies were strongly disputed.[6][8][9][10] The taxonomy adopted here rejects the designation of the neotype but splits the superb bird-of-paradise into three species.[11]
The genus contains three species:[11]
All members sport a jet-black to black body found only in males, while their female counterparts sport brown upperparts (shade depends on the species) with barred underparts; they have a relatively long to shortish, slender, crow-like bill, and various ornaments. All three species have a distinctive cape found on the nape that they push forward, an iridescent blue-green crown, and an iridescent blue-greenish breast shield that appears to be "smiling" (L. superba) and "frowning" (L. niedda) that the males use to court females. When it comes to the courtship of the female lophorina, males tend to start crouching, showing a repeated display of their breast shield and an exaggerated downward movement to show their crown to the female. During a high intensity display, the male will also fan his nape cape, forming a semi-circle overhead, and around breast shield, all while hopping around the female.[12][13][14] When in full display, the birds look like an otherworldly cartoon character with a fully black face, blue eyes, and blue mouth as they try their best to hop and dance around a potential mate.
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