Blue-headed ifrit [1] or blue- eyed ifrit [2] ( Latin Ifrita kowaldi ) is a bird species from the order Passeriformes , the only ifrit in the genus [2] ( Ifrita ) and the Ifritidae family [3] . Endemic of New Guinea . One of several species of poisonous birds .
| Blue-headed ifrit |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Family: | Ifritidae Schodde & Christidis , 2014 |
| Gender: | Efreet ( Ifrita Rothschild , 1898 ) |
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Ifrita kowaldi ( De Vis , 1890 ) |
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- I. k. brunnea Rand, 1940
- I. k. kowaldi (De Vis, 1890)
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Least ConcernedIUCN 3.1 Least Concern : 22705379 |
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The generic name comes from Arabic Ifrit - "genie" or "spirit" [4] . The species name was given in honor of a British officer and collector Charles Cowald who served in New Guinea [5] .
A small insectivorous bird, weighing about 35 grams, having a length of 16-17 centimeters and a yellowish-brown plumage with a blue-black upper part of the head. The male has a white, the female has a dull yellow strip behind the eyes.
The skin and feathers contain batrachotoxin poison, which causes a tingling sensation and numbness in the touching bird. The mechanism of poison accumulation is similar to that of other poisonous birds, for example, the two-color thrush flycatcher : poison accumulates due to the consumption of poisonous beetles of the genus Choresine [6] .
The species is endemic to New Guinea [7] . It lives in foggy forests [7] at heights of 1460–3680 meters [8] .
Blue-headed ifrit eat insects, sometimes soft fruits. The bird obtains food both on trees and on the ground. It moves around the trees like an ordinary nuthatch , using its tail as a support. Probably leads a relatively sedentary lifestyle. Nests with eggs were seen in September, with nestlings in October and November. The nest is a large thick-walled ball of moss and fern, intertwined with thin roots and stems.
