Duivenbode's riflebird

Paryphephorus Duivenbodi

Duivenbode’s riflebird, named after merchant and slave trader Maarten Duivenbode, is an obscure cryptid bird-of-paradise. It is only known from three different adult male specimens, all killed by different people around the mid to late 19th century on Yule Island, off the coast from the Goilala district northwest of Port Moresby. Duivenbode’s riflebird is a somewhat large bird with grey underparts, a reddish back and head, and a pair of sea-green frills on the nape and chin.

Similar to other cryptozoological-birds-of-paradise, Duivenbode’s riflebird is usually not recognized as its own species, but as a hybrid, in this case of a magnificent riflebird and a lesser lophorina. Some cryptozoologists and ornithologists disagree. They point out that both species lack features Duivenbode’s riflebird exhibits, and that neither would likely successfully reproduce due to their very different genetics and appearance.