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 rainforest.
At a glance
Sounds
Range map
Range map
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Male almost completely black, with green and blue metallic sheen on belly, throat, and crown. Female brown above, buff below, with a sparse scaly pattern on chest and belly and a pale eyebrow. Inhabits rainforest and nearby drier forest in northern Queensland (i.e., around Cairns).
Behavior
Call a loud explosive hiss, often repeated. Males display from a prominent upright stump or snag, holding wings high above the head, flashing bright yellow gape, bobbing, raising wings individually, and swaying.
Gallery