The “Vantablack” plumage of the exquisite bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba) is so dark that, when faced directly with sunlight, it absorbs 99.95 percent of it (really, vanta black absorbs 99.96 percent). Recent studies that were published in PeerJ indicate that there are actually two different species of birds.

The Vogelkop Superb Bird-of-Paradise is the name given to the “new” species, and the Greater Superb Bird-of-Paradise is the new name given to the more prevalent species.

Ed Scholes, an evolutionary scientist from Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology’s Birds-of-Paradise Project, stated, “There’s little doubt that the Vogelkop form is a different species when you see what it looks like and performs like in the field.”

The courtship dance is distinct. They have unique vocalizations. The women look very different from one another. The shape of the displaying male is likewise distinct.

The first concrete proof that the Vogelkop, which is limited to the far-western Bird’s Head (or Vogelkop) region of New Guinea, is a separate (albeit closely related) species from the Greater Superba, which is found throughout the country’s rainforests, comes from footage gathered by Scholes and Timothy Laman, an ornithologist and wildlife photojournalist at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Aside from having different addresses, the two birds seem (subtly) different. Males in both species have demonically black feathers with nearly fluorescent turquoise patterns, but when the Vogelkop exposes his plumage to court surrounding females, he forms a crescent shape with a pointed tip and the appearance of a frowning face. The Greater Superba, on the other hand, has a rounded shape and the appearance of a smiling face.

When Scholes and Lamon approached a possible mating partner, they noted discrepancies in their behavior. The Vogelkop does not fully open his “cape” until the female has advanced, and he deliberately obscures his breast shield to highlight his “headlight-like” eye-spot patterns.

The mating call and dance routines of the birds also differ. The Vogelkop’s song is a piercing whistle, unlike the Greater Superba’s gruff shriek, according to the experts. Their dancing moves are smoother, more akin to a waltz than the Greater Superba’s jive.

But it isn’t only the men. Females are also distinct. They, like many other species, are plainer. Both have brown wings and a striped body, but the Vogelkop’s head is black, whilst the female Greater Superba’s head is white with a brown marking around the eyes (a lot like a Zorro mask).