The generic name, Astrapia, is derived from the Greek word Astrapaios, which means "flash of lightning", referring to the iridescent plumage of the genus.

Its specific name, rothschildi, is for Lord Walter Rothschild, a famous collector who kept the first specimen in his private museum sent to him by German naturalist Carl Wahnes.

The less-impressive females are mainly a dull brownish black, with slight, narrow pale barring ventrally; the upperparts are a lighter brown compared to the blackish head; and the tail is greatly shorter than the males' and generally similar in color, though drabbier and browner.

A. rothschildi is known to feed on Pittosporum seeds and the fruits of the genera Heptapleurum and Freycinetia, as well as some animal matter, like skinks and possibly insects and arachnids,[2] like nearly all of the Astrapia species.

Another display includes the inverted tail-fan involves the male fanning the long tail in various movements while hanging upside-down, while also pointing the glossy underparts upward and erecting their breast feathers into a black, circular shape with the iridescent coppery-orange gorget almost encircling the head.

[1] It is not routinely hunted, though the skins and tail feathers of the males are important cultural items for the people of Nokopo.