The Distribution of Macgregor's Bird-of-Paradise

Abstract

The presence of Macgregoria pulchra is recorded for the first time from the subalpine regions of the Star Mountains of central New Guinea. This considerably reduces the gap between previous authenticated records of the bird's distribution. On the basis of known distribution, observations of the bird's behaviour and the distribution of local populations in the field it is postulated that the absence of the species from the many apparently suitable habitats in the central highlands of Papua New Guinea may be due to human predation.