My FIRST Anniversary BLOG - Victoria Riflebird

One year ago today I started my blog and if you ever read that few lines in my first blog, you would know that I did not have a clue!  However over the past year, I have learnt a great deal, thanks to many bloggers who have encouraged, and taught me different aspects of the blogging process.  I now have written 323 posts, with 117 countries having looked in on the site and have had nearly 85,000 page views.  Now how this happened, I am not too sure however I have enjoyed the experience and have made quite a lot of lovely ‘blogger’ friends for which I am thankful.  So today, I am sharing with you the most beautiful bird I saw in Australia that had the most dramatic display – the Victoria Riflebird.

The Victoria’s Riflebird -Ptiloris victoriae also known as Duwuduwu to the local Aboriginal people, is a bird of paradise endemic to the Atherton Tableland region of northeastern Queensland, Australia where it resides year-round.

This is the smallest Riflebird, it measures between 23–25 cm. Males have an iridescent purple sheen plumage, which becomes more blue-green on the head and more bronze on the lower breast. The throat is velvety black with a metallic green and blue triangular patch in the centre. Females have a pale eyebrow, and the buff underparts are faintly barred with brown. The call is a loud "yaars".

As well as insects, they eat fruits from the trees, some which they peel by holding the fruit with one foot and removing the skin with their bill.

The Victoria's Riflebird was discovered by John Macgillivray for John Gould in 1848 and is named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

When the male begins to display, he erects the feathers of his throat and sides to accentuate the bright colours of his plumage in the shafts of sunlight that pierce the dimness of the rain forest. He curves his rounded wings above his body and tilts his head back to expose his chin and throat to the light, and then moves from side to side in a fashion that looks almost mechanical.

The female is attracted to the male's display post by his raspy 'yaars' call, which becomes softer and more tuneful during the display.

The shot below is not mine, all the others are however when the bird that I saw was displaying, no female turned up and I wanted you to see one.  The pair then face each other closely, and each bird raises and extends its wings forward alternately in an increasingly rapid rhythm. Finally the male embraces the female with both wings, and copulation ensues.

I am going to show you a short video of the Victoria Riflebird displaying which I took from youtube as I was disappointed how mine turned out

It can be accessd at

http://youtu.be/e7ZnO893hTs

If there is a black space below, click it and the video will appear.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I thank all who have visited today whether bloggers, facebook, Google Plus or email readers.  I thank you very much for your support and friendship over the past year.