Animalia Life

Clytomyias insignis
TAXONOMY
Clytomyias insignis Sharp, 1879, Arfak Mountains, New Guinea. Two subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Orange-crowned fairy wren; French: Mйrion а tкte rousse; German: Rotkopf-Staffelschwanz; Spanish: Ratona Australiana Rufa.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Female 0.42–0.49 oz (12–14 g), male 0.35–0.49 oz (10–14 g). Cock-tailed fairy-wren with orange crown, buffy orange below and orange/olive above.
DISTRIBUTION
Found at 6,560–9,840 ft (2,000–3,000 m) along both flanks of the central cordillera of New Guinea. C. i. insignis occurs as an isolated population in far northwestern Irian Jaya.
HABITAT
Mountain rainforest, usually in thickets of vine and climbing bamboo, along tracks and in small clearings made by tree fall.
BEHAVIOR
Rarely flies, and moves in groups through dense foliage with tail half-cocked and partly spread. Does not join mixed-species foraging flocks. Groups remain in same area throughout year. Voice a high-pitched twitter.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Gleans underside of leaves for invertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeding biology is virtually unknown.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened but deforestation a potential threat.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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