The astrapian sicklebill, also known as the green-breasted riflebird, is a bird in the Paradisaeidae family that was proposed by Erwin Stresemann to be an intergeneric hybrid between an Arfak astrapia and black sicklebill, an identity since confirmed by DNA analysis.[1]

Astrapian sicklebill
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Corvoidea
Family: Paradisaeidae
Hybrid: Astrapia nigra × Epimachus fastosus
Synonyms
  • Epimachus astrapioides Rothschild, 1897
  • Astrapimachus astrapioides

History

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Only one adult male specimen of this hybrid is known, held by the American Museum of Natural History, and presumably deriving from the Vogelkop Peninsula of north-western New Guinea.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Thörn et al. (2024).
  2. ^ Frith & Beehler (1998), p.507.

References

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  • Frith, Clifford B. & Beehler, Bruce M. (1998). The Birds of Paradise. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-854853-9.
  • Thörn, Filip; Soares, André E. R.; Müller, Ingo A.; Päckert, Martin; Frahnert, Sylke; van Grouw, Hein; Kamminga, Pepijn; Peona, Valentina; Suh, Alexander; Blom, Mozes P. K.; Irestedt, Martin (2024-06-08). "Contemporary intergeneric hybridization and backcrossing among birds-of-paradise". Evolution Letters: 1–15. doi:10.1093/evlett/qrae023.