Princess Stephanie's Astrapia, Astrapia stephaniae, also known as Stephanie's Astrapia, is a medium-sized, approximately 37 cm long, black bird of paradise with an iridescent blue-green and purple head, silky plumage below and two very long, broad purplish-black central tail feathers. The female is a dark brown bird with a bluish-black head and black-barred cinnamon-brown underparts. Hybrids between this species and the Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, in the small area where their ranges overlap, have been named Barnes' Astrapia.

Princess Stephanie's Astrapia was discovered by Carl Hunstein in 1884. It is endemic to the mountain forests in central and eastern Papua New Guinea.

It was named in honor of Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, the wife of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, who was commemorated by the Blue Bird of Paradise.

A common species throughout its range, Princess Stephanie's Astrapia is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Astrapia stephaniae. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern