Birds of Paradise Photo Gallery Page

Birds of Paradise Photo Gallery

	The Greater Bird of Paradise is one of the largest kinds. It is about 46 cm (about 18 in) in length, including the tail. Its forehead and throat are a glittering emerald green. The head is golden yellow, and the wings and tail are maroon. A dense mass of plumes about 2 feet (61 centimeters) long springs from under the wings (see right and bottom photographs).


	Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda)

Greater Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda)

Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)
		Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea minor)
	The Lesser Bird of Paradise looks much like the Greater Bird of Paradise (see left and top photographs). In courtship, no other birds come close to the spectacular display of vibrating plumage and swishing tail music bottom. The captivating dance evokes a heavenly vision of sexual complexity - the zenith of emotional union. Whereas the female is a demure and submissive bird, the male is adorned with a silky white and yellow rear, a creamy yellow head and a luminous emerald throat.

	The *Goldie's Bird of Paradise* (see right photograph).
		Goldie's Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea decora)

		The *Raggiana Bird of Paradise* has dull brown females and males with orange feathers, green chin and yellow crown (see left photograph). They are typically about 13 inches long. Their flight is wavier than other birds of paradise. The male likes to perform his sexual displays on the treetops (see bottom photograph).
Male Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) displaying to a female

Red Bird of Paradise (see bottom photograph).		Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana)

Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra)

The *Magnificent Bird of Paradise* is only about 7 inches long. They have a dark underside and golden back with iridescent colors and blue beak and legs (see right photograph). The male is so heavy looking that he appears almost tailless. The female is a dull brown color with stripes on her lower half. Rather than displaying high on the treetops, the Magnificent Bird of Paradise displays on the ground.
			Magnificent Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes magnificus)

Magnificent Bird of Paradise (Diphyllodes magnificus) in courtship display

	The *Wallace's Standardwing* (see right photograph).
			Wallace's Standardwing (Semioptera wallacei)

	The *King of Saxony Bird of Paradise* is about as large as a robin. It is black, with a yellow belly and wings edged with yellow. Two long shafts grow from the sides of its head. Attached to each shaft is a series of small parts of feathers. They make the shaft look like a wire hung with many little bright-blue flags (see left photograph).
*King of Saxony Bird of Paradise (Pteridophora alberti)*		*King of Saxony Bird of Paradise (Pteridophora alberti)*

		*Splendid Astrapia* (see right photograph). *Princess of Stephanie Bird of Paradise* (see left photograph). The *Superb Bird of Paradise* is about 10 inches long. The male is black with an iridescent blue underside (see right photograph) while the female is a dull blackish color. The males display themselves in the canopy of the forests or about the middle region.	Splendid Astrapia (Astrapia splendidissima)

			Superb Bird of Paradise (Lophorina superba)
Princess Stephanie's Bird of Paradise (Astrapia stephaniae)
	The Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise has 12 lateral plumes ending in black recurving filaments (see bottom photograph).
		*Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleucidis melanoleuca) with his neck ruff erected in display*


	*King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius)*

		The *King Bird of Paradise* has shining scarlet feathers, a white belly, and a band of brilliant emerald green across its breast. On each side of the breast grow tufts of feathers tipped with a green hue which gleams like metal (see left photograph). These tufts can be spread out like fans. The two middle feathers of the tail are like long bare wires which end in spiral emerald-colored disks (see top photograph). In one of the male's displays, he expands his breast fan and puffs up the feathers of his underparts so that he appears almost spherical. He then raises his long, wirelike tail shafts so that the green racquets at their tips are above his head, and raises and sways his head from side to side. In another display, he hangs upside-down from a perch with wings spread and vibrating and his bill open to display the bright yellow-green interior of his mouth (see right photographs).
*King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius)*				*King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius) in courtship display*


		*Male Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) displaying to a female*
		*Wilson's Bird of Paradise* has bare patches of cobalt-blue skin on its head. On the back of its neck is a tuft of yellow feathers which can be raised to form a halo. The back of the bird is scarlet, and the breast is a dazzling moss-green. The narrow central feathers of the tail are blue. They curve across each other and then curl spirally into a circle.
*Wilson's Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) in courtship display*

	Black Sicklebill (see right photograph).
		*Black Sicklebill (Epimachus fastuosus) motionless at climax of his display*

		Trumpet Bird (see left photograph). Short-tailed Paradigalla (see right photograph).
	*Trumpet Bird (Manucodia keraudrenii)*		*Short-tailed Paradigalla (Paradigalla brevicauda)*

Western Parotia (see right photograph).
	*Western Parotia (Parotia sefilata) in courtship dance*

	Queen Carola's Parotia (see right photograph).
		*Queen Carola's Parotia(Parotia carolae)*

There are 3 species of Riflebirds in the Birds of Paradise family, of which the Magnificent Riflebird is the most impressive. Riflebirds have strong feet which they use for climbing and for clinging to tree trunks while they probe dead wood for insects. In addition, they often use their feet to hold food on the perch while tearing it apart. The male is promiscuous, defending a territory from a visible perch which he uses for displaying. This involves raising his rounded wings (see left photograph) and swaying his head from side to side while emitting a powerful whistle, which is said to sound like a passing bullet - hence the species' name.

The Victoria's Riflebird is shown on the photographs on the right (male - right top, female - right bottom). It is also known as Lesser Riflebird and Queen Victoria's Riflebird. It is between 230 - 250 mm in length. Male Victoria's Riflebirds have a magnificent courtship display which culminates with him encircling the female with his wings followed by copulation. They do not pair bond and the female raises the young on her own.

Victoria's Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae) in courtship display

Victoria's Riflebird (Ptiloris victoriae)

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