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23

Victoria's Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae) Alternate name(s): "Lesser Rifle-bird", "Queen Victoria Riflebird" Aboriginal name(s): "duwuduwu" Size: 23-25 cm Weight: 90-120 g (male), 75-95 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 Victoria's Riflebirds are small birds of paradise. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Victoria's Riflebirds have glossy, "velvet"-black plumage, except for the belly, which is glossy-olive. Only the crown, the "gorget" and the central tail feathers have purple to turquoise iridescensce. Female Victoria's Riflebirds are much plainer, with an off-white throat patch with a black stripe on either side of it and an otherwise cinnamon-buff front with sparse, relatively inconspicuous 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 brownish. 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. Juvenile males resemble females until they moult into their adult plumage. Twitcher's tip Compared with Paradise Riflebirds, male Victoria's Riflebirds have less prominent scales on their chests; females have less colour contrast on their front.

Taxonomy, classification See Victoria's 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 Victoria's Riflebird is available HERE . Victoria's Riflebirds are endemic to Australia. They are found only in the Atherton (and adjacent) Tablelands, from just to the South of Cooktown to Townsville, QLD. Victoria's Riflebirds have a preference for rainforest and adjacent woodlands.

Sightings Click here for sighting information B. Hensen reports spotting a Victoria's Riflebird at Julatten, QLD, in July 2013. M. Eaton found a Victoria's Riflebird at Kuranda, near Cairns, QLD, in July 2018. A. Ross-Taylor reports finding Victoria's Riflebirds on the Atherton Tablelands, QLD, in May 2022.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Victoria's Riflebird (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Atherton Tablelands, QLD, May 2022]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female Victoria's Riflebird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2013]

Near-frontal view of a female Victoria's Riflebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Kuranda, near Cairns, QLD, July 2018]

Near-lateral view of a female Victoria's Riflebird (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Atherton Tablelands, QLD, May 2022]

Near-lateral view of a female Victoria's Riflebird searching for insects (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2013]

Lateral view of a female Victoria's Riflebird using its powerful bill to debark a dead branch in search of insects
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2013]

Near-dorsal view of a female Victoria's Riflebird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Julatten, QLD, July 2013]

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.

vicrifl_me_20200927.m4a

(N QLD)

Contact call (male)

© ME

More Victoria's 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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