Bioacoustics of Parotia berlepschi

Female External Appearance The external phenotype of female-plumaged P. berlepschi is differentiated from female-plumaged P. carolae in head and facial markings and eye color ( Fig. 4 , and photo ML 48068341). P. berlepschi has more extensive white in the middle of the forehead, which extends almost to the fore-crown ( Fig. 4A ). The brown loral patch is also more extensive with less white near the base of the upper mandible. The supercilium extends further back onto the nape such that the nape of P. berlepschi is whiter than in P. carolae . As with males, eye color of female plumaged P. berlepschi is pale grey-blue ( Fig. 4A ), which is in contrast to the yellow eye color of female plumaged P. carolae ( Fig. 4B ). Voice The primary advertisement vocalizations of P. berlepschi are a shrill, ascending, two-note, “ whee-dee ” ( Fig. 5A ) reminiscent of a plastic squeak toy and a similarly shrill, four-note tremulous whistle or whinny, “we-e-e-et” ( Fig. 5B ) in which the first three are ascending (audio recordings ML 139538 and ML 139631). The “ whee-dee ” vocalization is occasionally truncated to just a single note, which sounds like “whee” or “ wheep.” At other times it is modified such that the two notes descend slightly with a more abrupt beginning and end to each note so that it sounds like “chee-deep” and the “ deep” note is a slightly lower frequency. In comparison, the primary advertisements of P. carolae from Mt. Stolle are a powerfully whistled three-note “kwoi kwoi eeng” where each “kwoi” note is sharply ascending and the final “eeng” is a pure tone ( Fig. 5C ). P. carolae vocalizations from Crater Mountain are a single frantic quavering whistle-note that sounds like, “kwa-a-aa-ng”. When excited, e.g., upon approach to the display court, P. berlepschi males were also heard to give a harsh, raspy white noise-like scold that ranges from a single to upwards of six ‘notes’ (e.g., the single scold note in video ML 457925 at 00:48 and also audio ML 139631) and several irregular chattery squeaks and chortles. Acoustically, the scold notes are similar to the advertisement vocalizations given by the “all-black” blue-eyed Parotia species: P. lawesii , P. sefilata , P. helenae , and P. wahnesi , but not known from the P. carolae complex.