Bird-of-paradise

The **birds of paradise** are songbirds of the family Paradisaeidae. They live in eastern Indonesia, Maluku, Papua New Guinea, Torres Strait Islands, and eastern Australia. Best known are the members of the genus _Paradisaea_, including the type species, the greater bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea apoda_.

They live in tropical forests like rainforests, swamps and moss forest. They build their nests from soft materials, such as leaves, ferns, and vine monsters, typically placed in a tree fork.

These birds are best known for the remarkable plumage and behaviour of the males. They are an extreme example of how sexual selection works.

Females choose males who they instinctively see are fine specimens of their species. The colours of the plumage, the construction of the nest, the song and the mating dance all play a part. In some species the pairing is monogamous, and in others the males are polygamous. If they are monogamous, the males look much like the females. If they are polygamous, the males are very much flashier than the females. In both cases, it is the female who makes the choice of partner.

Hunting for plumes and habitat destruction have reduced some species to endangered status. Habitat destruction due to deforestation is now the main threat.

Birds of paradise range in size from the king bird of paradise at 3 grams (1.8 oz) and 15 cm (6 in) to the black sicklebill at 110 cm (43 in) and the curl-crested manucode at 430 grams (15.2 oz).

Birds of paradise have bodies which look rather like a crow. They have stout or long bills and strong feet, About two-thirds of the species are strongly sexually dimorphic.

In most species, the diet is mostly fruit, but riflebirds and sicklebills also prefer insects and other arthropods.

## Species of birds-of-paradise

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**Genus _Lycocorax***
- Paradise-crow, _Lycocorax pyrrhopterus_

**Genus _Manucodia***
- Glossy-mantled manucode, _Manucodia atra_
- Jobi manucode, _Manucodia jobiensis_
- Crinkle-collared manucode, _Manucodia chalybata_
- Curl-crested manucode, _Manucodia comrii_
- Trumpet manucode, _Manucodia keraudrenii_

**Genus _Paradigalla***
- Long-tailed paradigalla, _Paradigalla carunculata_
- Short-tailed paradigalla, _Paradigalla brevicauda_

**Genus _Astrapia***
- Arfak astrapia, _Astrapia nigra_
- Splendid astrapia, _Astrapia splendidissima_
- Ribbon-tailed astrapia, _Astrapia mayeri_
- Stephanie's astrapia, _Astrapia stephaniae_
- Huon astrapia, _Astrapia rothschildi_

**Genus _Parotia***
- Western parotia, _Parotia sefilata_
- Carola's parotia, _Parotia carolae_
- Berlepsch's parotia, _Parotia berlepschi_
- Lawes's parotia, _Parotia lawesii_
- Eastern parotia, _Parotia helenae_
- Wahnes's parotia, _Parotia wahnesi_

**Genus _Pteridophora***
- King of Saxony bird of paradise, _Pteridophora alberti_

**Genus _Lophorina***
- Superb bird-of-paradise, _Lophorina superba_
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**Genus _Ptiloris***
- Magnificent riflebird, _Ptiloris magnificus_
- Eastern riflebird, _Ptiloris intercedens_
- Paradise riflebird, _Ptiloris paradiseus_
- Victoria's riflebird, _Ptiloris victoriae_

**Genus _Epimachus***
- Black sicklebill, _Epimachus fastuosus_
- Brown sicklebill, _Epimachus meyeri_
- Black-billed sicklebill, _Epimachus albertisi_
- Pale-billed sicklebill, _Epimachus bruijnii_

**Genus _Cicinnurus***
- Magnificent bird-of-paradise, _Cicinnurus magnificus_
- Wilson's bird-of-paradise, _Cicinnurus respublica_
- King bird-of-paradise, _Cicinnurus regius_

**Genus _Semioptera***
- Wallace's Standardwing, _Semioptera wallacii_

**Genus _Seleucidis***
- Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise, _Seleucidis melanoleuca_

**Genus _Paradisaea**_
- Lesser bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea minor_
- Greater bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea apoda_
- Raggiana bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea raggiana_
- Goldie's bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea decora_
- Red bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea rubra_
- Emperor bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea guilielmi_
- Blue bird-of-paradise, _Paradisaea rudolphi_
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**Greater "melampitta"**
- Greater melampitta, _"Melampitta" gigantea_ - tentatively included in this group

**Formerly placed here**
- Loria's bird-of-paradise, _Cnemophilus loriae_ - probably closer to Melanocharitidae (berrypeckers) (Cracraft & Feinstein 2000).
- Crested bird-of-paradise, _Cnemophilus macgregorii_ - probably closer to Melanocharitidae (Cracraft & Feinstein 2000).
- Yellow-breasted bird-of-paradise, _Loboparadisea sericea_ - probably closer to Melanocharitidae (Cracraft & Feinstein 2000).
- Macgregor's giant honeyeater (formerly "Macgregor's bird-of-paradise"), _Macgregoria pulchra_ - recently found to be a honeyeater (Cracraft & Feinstein 2000).
- Lesser melampitta, _Melampitta lugubris_ - for some time tentatively placed here; probably Orthonychidae (logrunners)

## Other websites

- BBC Arts: _Painting paradise: Art meets nature in Papua New Guinea_. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4kHd24tndfhtq7MJw48gtYj/painting-paradise-art-meets-nature-in-papua-new-guinea
- Birds of Paradise
- Streaming video of a few birds of paradise's courtship display