The birds-of-paradise (Aves: Paradisaeidae) are a quintessential example of elaborate ornamental diversification among animals. Ornamental evolution in the birds-of-paradise is exemplified by the presence of a highly integrated courtship phenotype, which is the whole package of plumage ornaments, behaviors and sounds that each species uses during courtship. Characterizing a species’ courtship phenotype is therefore a key part of evolutionary and taxonomic investigation in the group. With its unprecedented transmogrification from bird-like form into something abstract and otherworldly, the courtship phenotype of the Superb Bird-of-Paradise,Lophorina superba,is one of the most remarkable of all. Recent research by Irestedt et al. (2017) suggests that the genusLophorinais not a single species but is likely a complex of three allopatric species spanning the island of New Guinea:L. nieddain the Bird’s Head Peninsula of the west,L. superbathroughout the central cordillera andL. minorin the Papuan Peninsula of the east. Of these,nieddais the most phenotypically divergent with plumage traits hypothesized to possibly produce differences in ornamental appearance during display. However, the whole courtship phenotype ofnieddahas not been documented and so the actual extent of differences in ornamental appearance during courtship remain unknown. Here we analyze the first audiovisual recordings ofnieddaand compare its courtship phenotype withsuperbato test the hypothesis of potential differences in ornamental appearance.Our main goals are to: (1) provide the first description of the courtship phenotype ofnieddain the wild, (2) determine if and how thenieddacourtship phenotype differs fromsuperbaand (3) evaluate any uncovered differences in light ofniedda’snewly recognized species status. Our secondary goal is to provide a more thorough characterization of courtship phenotype diversity within the genusLophorinato facilitate future comparative study within the genus and family.Results show that thenieddacourtship phenotype differs substantially fromsuperbain numerous aspects of ornamental appearance, display behavior and sound. We highlight six key differences and conclude that the new species status ofnieddais corroborated by the distinctly differentiated ornamental features documented here.With full species status,nieddabecomes the fourth endemic bird-of-paradise to the Bird’s Head region of Indonesian New Guinea (i.e., the Vogelkop Peninsula), a fact that underscores the importance of this region as a center of endemic biodiversity worthy of enhanced conservation protection.
Patterns of Symbiodinium distribution in three giant clam species across the biodiverse Bird’s Head region of Indonesia