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23

Paradise Riflebird (Ptiloris paradiseus) Alternate name(s): "Riflebird*" Size: 28-30 cm Weight: 128-143 g (male), 86-112 g (female)

Australia: Family Group 23 Family Group 23 Table Paradise Riflebird Victoria's Riflebird Magnificent Riflebird Trumpet Manucode Australian Raven Forest Raven Little Raven Little Crow Torresian Crow White-winged Chough Apostlebird Green Catbird Spotted Catbird Golden Bowerbird Regent Bowerbird Satin Bowerbird Tooth-billed Bowerbird Spotted Bowerbird Western Bowerbird Fawn-breasted Bowerbird Great Bowerbird Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Paradise Riflebirds are large birds of paradise. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Paradise Riflebirds have glossy, "velvet"-black plumage, except for the belly, which is glossy-olive. The upper belly, with the transition from black to olive colours, is boldly scalloped. Only the crown, the "gorget" and the central tail feathers have purple to turquoise iridescence. Female Paradise Riflebirds have an off-white throat patch and an otherwise light-buff front with prominent dark-brown chevrons. The head, except for white eyebrows, the nape of the neck, the rest of the back are all dark-olive; the tail is brownish-olive. The flight feathers are brown. The eyes of both sexes have brown irises. The long, narrow, slightly downward-curved bill (females have a longer bill than males) is grey. The legs and feet are also grey. Juveniles resemble females, but with more rufous edge lining on the wing feathers. Twitcher's tip Compared with Victora's Riflebirds, male Paradise Riflebirds have more prominent scales on their chests; females have more colour contrast on their front.

Taxonomy, classification See Paradise Riflebird at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Paradise Riflebird is available HERE . Paradise Riflebirds are endemic to Australia. They populate the eastern slope of the Great Dividing Range from just northward of the Hunter River in NSW to just southward of the tropic of Capricorn in QLD. Paradise Riflebirds have a preference for rainforest and adjacent forest.

Sightings Click here for sighting information R. Plumtree reports spotting Paradise Riflebirds near Kyogle, northern NSW, in August 2013. E. Scott reports finding Paradise Riflebirds regularly at Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, e.g. in November/December 2016. M. Eaton reports finding Paradise Riflebirds at O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, in January 2020. A pair was found at D'Aguilar NP, near Brisbane, QLD, in January 2023.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Paradise Riflebird looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[D'Aguilar NP, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2023]

Frontal/ventral view of a male Paradise Riflebird (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Kyogle, NSW, August 2013]

Near-frontal view of a male Paradise Riflebird issuing its call (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, December 2016]

Lateral view of a male Paradise Riflebird (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Kyogle, NSW, August 2013]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Paradise Riflebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Frontal view of a female Paradise Riflebird, different stance (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Close-up frontal view of a female Paradise Riflebird during a grooming session (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, December 2016]

Close-up lateral view of a female Paradise Riflebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[D'Aguilar NP, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2023]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a female Paradise Riflebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Dorsal view of a female Paradise Riflebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a juvenile Paradise Riflebird searching for small animals behind treebark; note the copious rufous edge lining on the wing feathers (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, October 2016]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Paradise Riflebird searching for small animals (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, October 2016]

Food, Diet

Male Paradise Riflebird taking fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Female Paradise Riflebird taking fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Female Paradise Riflebird taking fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Female Paradise Riflebird taking fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[O'Reilly's Plateau, Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Success! Juvenile Paradise Riflebird with its prey, a caterpillar (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, October 2016]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

parrifl_20160314.m4a

(S QLD)

Contact call (male)

© MD

More Paradise Riflebird sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sat, 7 January 2023, 23:14 +00:00