Epimachus bruijnii, the lowland Sickle-billed Bird-of-Paradise

Abstract

Epimachus (Drepanornis) bruiinii is a little-known bird-of-paradise with a small range. I summarize previous information about this species, which was thought to be confined to the coastal lowlands of north-western New Guinea. In 1979 I observed it in the large inland basin known as the Meervlakte. Beside constituting a considerable extension of range, this record is significant in showing that E. bruijnii and the closely related E. albertisii, which I found nearby in the Gauttier Mts, are geographically sympatric although altitudinally segregated. Like many other bird-of-paradise species, E. bruijnii joins flocks of pitohuis and babblers.