Writes kot-de-azur ( cat_de_azur
)
I Nine years ago, two men conceived an unusual venture: to be the first in the world to find and describe all 39 species of the legendary birds of paradise.
Having gone on 18 expeditions, they achieved their goal.
The rising sun illuminates the mating dance of a large bird of paradise on Wokam Island, south of New Guinea. Males pluck foliage from upper branches to clear the stage for mating rituals.
In New Guinea, kangaroos climb trees, and 30-centimeter butterflies flutter through the selva, where egg-laying mammals fuss in the mud. Nose people live here - they can only compete with Cyrano! - frogs, and the rivers are teeming with fish of all colors of the rainbow.
But none of the wonders of New Guinea has fascinated scientists as much as the creatures that naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, back in the 19th century, called "the most extraordinary and most beautiful of the feathered inhabitants of the Earth": birds of paradise, Paradisaeidae.
There are only 39 species of these fabulous creatures, and they live exclusively in New Guinea and in several neighboring territories. Despite lengthy research, until recently, no one managed to see all the birds of paradise.
Birds of paradise have developed eye-catching adornments to a point that even pedantic and rarely surprised scientists have called absurd.
Photographer Tim Laman climbed into the wilderness and to great heights to get close to the birds without disturbing them.
In 2003, Cornell University ornithologist Edwin Scholes, along with Tim Laman, a biologist and photographer, began planning the biggest expedition of their lives: they set out to document all kinds of birds of paradise. It took eight years and 18 expeditions to the most exotic corners of the planet. Using photographs, video and sound recordings, Scholes and Laman captured a variety of moments in the life of outlandish birds. The mating of males was especially interesting. They spread their golden feathers and dance comically, their sensitive feather-antennae look like robot antennas, their feathers shimmer, their necks seem to be decorated with necklaces, and their tails open like fans. Their coloring overshadows any gems, and all this extravagance serves the sole purpose of attracting the attention of as many females as possible.
The male royal bird of paradise is constantly followed by his own "flying saucers". This unusual tail is the result of thousands of years of competition for the favor of females.
Birds of paradise are an exaggerated proof of Charles Darwin's theory of sexual selection: females choose partners with the most striking, and therefore dominant, traits, thus increasing the likelihood of passing on the corresponding genes to the next generation. There are almost no predators in New Guinea, so magnificent birds thrived and developed eye-catching adornments to a degree that even pedantic and rarely surprised scientists called absurdity.
An elegant male western parotia performs a dance in front of his chosen one.
During the courtship period, the scaly bird of paradise describes semicircles with its head feathers, similar to the garlands of flags. These "antennas" can grow up to 50 centimeters.
Luxurious feathers of birds of paradise have been highly valued as elements of exotic decor for thousands of years. Bird-catchers, who sold the first specimens to Europe in the 16th century, often ruthlessly cut off Paradisaeidae wings and legs to reinforce the legend of the birds of the gods that soar in the clouds, never descending to earth, and feed on manna from heaven. In the 21st century, Laman and Scholes decided—goodbye legends—to describe all 39 species in detail.
The male magnificent shield-bearing bird of paradise spreads its tail and wings fully to impress a possible partner with its size.
On the island of Batanta, west of New Guinea, Laman trudged fifty meters through the forest thicket to photograph the mating games of a red bird of paradise. A couple of thousand kilometers to the east, on the Huon Peninsula, he lowered the camera from a tree branch to view the colorful pectoral plumage and "tutu" of the male vanes parotia as the females see them.
The 19th century explorer Alfred Russel Wallace was one of the first to study birds of paradise in nature. Following in his footsteps, ornithologists Tim Laman and Edwin Scholes visited 51 regions of the Earth. One of the rarest - a magnificent blue-headed bird of paradise (pictured) they found on the Indonesian island of Waigeo.
Although both men had been to the tropics before, they could not imagine what awaited them. They endured long hikes on flooded trails, drifted twice at sea when the outboard motors failed, and for the first photographs of black-throated astrapia, frozen upside down in a courtship position, scientists spent more than two thousand hours in shelters, waiting and watching.
A filamentous bird of paradise sings in a swamp in New Guinea.
The appearance of a maned manucode in its blue-black outfit marked the end of research in June 2011. Scholes and Laman hope that their work will serve as a stimulus for the conservation of New Guinea, where animals are still protected only by the inaccessibility of their habitats. As Wallace wrote, "Nature seems to have taken every precaution to ensure that her most treasured treasures are not devalued by being too easily obtained."
Working
We meet the mention of birds of paradise in fairy tales, legends and myths. But do they really exist? As it turns out, this is not fiction. Birds of paradise are as real as all other birds. They inhabit the Australian continent and New Guinea. They, of course, can be classified as exotic, but in fact, our crows, which have changed dramatically in the process of evolution, may well be their progenitors.
The first mention of birds of paradise dates back to 1522. Their effigies were brought to Europe by sailors participating in the expedition of Magellan. As a matter of fact, these were not even stuffed animals, but the skins of exotic birds, devoid of bones and legs. The absence of legs did not bother the ancient zoologists. They considered that the birds of paradise live in the sky, feed on heavenly dew, and they do not need legs. Even stranger is the hypothesis of their reproduction. Its essence was that birds incubate their eggs while in the air. The female lays them on the back of the male, where she warms them with her body. It is clear that this is utter nonsense.
Scientists reached the truth only in 1824, after they discovered a bird of paradise in New Guinea. She sat on a tree and looked just like her closest European relatives.
From that moment, the real hunting for exotic birds began. Their feathers were very popular with the ladies. In particular, they made jewelry for ladies' hats. All this led to a sharp reduction in their population. At present, hunting for birds of paradise is prohibited, and they are under the protection of the state.
Today, bird-of-paradise feather decorations can be seen only during national holidays. As a rule, they decorate the costumes of dancers. In free trade they are also available. However, only wealthy people can buy them, as they cost fabulous money, up to a million dollars.
What do birds of paradise look like?
They may differ in color, size, shape of the tail. It all depends on the type of bird and its habitat. There are monophonic individuals, as well as multi-colored ones, in which the plumage can be red, yellow, blue. Males are much brighter than females. During the mating season, their color becomes incredibly attractive, rich and colorful. It's easy to explain. After all, the more beautiful the male, the more chances he has to attract the attention of the female.
Birds of paradise are endemic to New Guinea and nearby islands. The halo of their habitat includes areas of tropical forest. They feed on insects, small amphibians and reptiles, do not refuse fruits, seeds and berries.
Preference is given to a solitary lifestyle. Together, the male and female can only be found during the mating season. The creation of a married couple is preceded by the patient courtship of the male and his mating dances. About one female can gather up to 30 males. Each of them tries to please her. To this end, the male takes the original posture. He spreads his plumage and shyly hides his head under his wing.
Of particular note is the mating dance of the male, which he performs right on a tree, or on a forest edge. This is a whole set of original movements and poses, the purpose of which is to demonstrate the beauty of plumage. Before starting to dance, the male carefully prepares the dance floor. He removes it from leaves and branches, and tramples it down well. On the branches adjacent to the “stage”, the male cuts off the leaves, preparing places for female spectators. Having achieved the location of the female, the male mates with her. This concludes his marital obligations. The female builds the nest, incubates the eggs and raises the offspring. The male does not take part in this.
In order not to spoil the view of the beautiful plumage, the native craftsmen sold the skins of these marvelous birds to Europeans, after removing the legs. Thus, in the Old World, a legend was born about birds living in paradise, where there is no need to sit on a hard surface.
Paradise birds. Birds of paradise range - Australia, New Guinea and neighboring islands
Fountains of delicately colored plumage literally gushing from the armpits, turning into delicate flowing cascades. Metal snails, swinging at the ends of elastic black wires. Stripes of blue smooth leather separated by black velvet stripes. Garlands of satin flags hanging from the head, iridescent crescent-shaped breastplates. Fancy tufts, earrings, pennants, ribbons, trains, lace skirts. All these are the details of the outfits in which the males of different species of birds of paradise are dressed. However, in the appearance of most representatives of this exotic group, the features of corvids that are well known to us - crows, magpies, jays - appear. Science Confirms: Birds of Paradise Family (Paradisaeidae) closely related to the corvid family (Corvidae).
Male wonderful bird of paradise (Lophorina superba) distinguished by black velvety plumage with a turquoise breast
Know against the Republic
Europeans first learned about the exotic relatives of crows in the 16th century, after Magellan's trip around the world. It was then that they started talking about the legless birds of paradise living in eternal flight. It was believed that the female lays a single egg in a recess on the back of the male, which constantly flies above the clouds. In the same place, in the sky, the chick hatches. In the 18th century, Carl Linnaeus, paying tribute to a beautiful legend, described a large bird of paradise under the name Paradisaea apoda- "Paradise legless." In their natural habitat, in New Guinea, Europeans saw the legendary birds only in the 19th century. Later, naturalists often gave newly discovered species of these birds names in honor of representatives of royal families - emperors, princes, princesses, queens. So the Latin names appeared: Paradisaea guilielmi, Paradisaea rudolphi, Pteridophora alberti. In defiance of this tradition, the French biologist and relative of Napoleon I, Charles Lucien Bonaparte, named one of the most beautiful birds in the family Diphyllodes respublica in honor of the French Republic.
Berries for the royal bird of paradise - a delicacy
It has now been established that 42 species belong to the family of birds of paradise (according to various sources, from 39 to 45. - Note. "Around the world"), grouped into 13 genera. The vast majority of these birds live in New Guinea and the adjacent archipelagos. Four species are distributed in the northeast of Australia, two more species are endemic to the Moluccas. Birds of paradise are inhabitants of dense tropical forests, but some rise to the cool foggy forests of the highlands and even to subalpine shrubs up to 4000 m above sea level. Despite their bulky decorations, birds move well in the thick of branches, but they fly reluctantly and over short distances. Their diet consists mainly of juicy fruits and seeds, many drink nectar (especially those with thin curved beaks), cope with nuts, collect insects on leaves and branches, catch small tree frogs and lizards.
Solo vs Ensemble
The postures and movements of the male birds of paradise during the lek are no less impressive than the decorations. Most members of the family lek in the crowns at a height of 20 m and above, only a few - in the undergrowth or on the ground. The latter carefully clear the current area from fallen leaves and other plant debris, cut off the leaves that shade the arena from the branches. The current is usually accompanied by extremely diverse, but not too melodious cries: trumpeting and croaking sounds, piercing metallic whistles, hissing, chirping, murmuring trills.
The shield-bearing bird of paradise (the species lives in the north and east of Australia) takes out seeds from the fruits of a tropical plant with its long curved beak Dysoxylum
Some artists prefer solo performances in front of the ladies. Parotia (Parotia) the performer, stretched out in a column and fluffing his plumage on his sides, dances on a round stage with a diameter of up to two meters. The resemblance to a ballerina in a black tutu is simply amazing!
Male filamentous bird of paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus) effectively uses 12 stiff, wire-like feathers in the dance, which protrude from the lush yellowish “clouds” covering the tail and bend forward. Marriage partners now and then change places at the top of a dry vertical trunk (as if in the children's game "King of the Hill"). At the same time, it is believed that the female, striving to occupy the crown, is excited by tickling the male who is there with wires. royal bird of paradise (Cicinnurus regius) bristles the brilliant scarlet plumage of the neck and chest, straightens the smoky feathers on the sides with a green edging. Having raised the tail vertically, becoming almost spherical from the tousled plumage, the male sways from side to side on cobalt blue legs. And the emerald spirals at the ends of the thread-like tail feathers make arcuate movements. It looks like the bird is juggling balls. Having finished the mating show, the male hangs upside down on a branch.
The royal bird of paradise proudly displays its luxurious bright red outfit.
Other birds of paradise lek in whole companies: up to 40 males gather on the branches of one tree (sometimes serving as a lek for many generations), choosing sunlit areas. They scream, fly from branch to branch, and perform mating dances over and over again.
ZOOSPRAVKA
birds of paradise
paradisaeidae
Kingdom- animals
Type of- chordates
Class- birds
Detachment- passeriformes
Family- birds of paradise
An illustration from Natural History, published in England 1660-1800, shows several species of birds of paradise.
The sizes of the birds vary in a wide range of 12–46 cm (without decorating feathers). Adult males are painted in all colors of the rainbow. An effective palette, in which there is a place for both bright and delicate tones, is the merit of not only natural pigments, but also the refraction of light in the grooves of the pen. The outfit is sometimes successfully complemented by a bright beak (in the twilight it may seem luminous) and an unusual color of the oral cavity - sulphurous yellow, blue, greenish. The eyes are yellow, red, blue. But females and immature males are painted much more modestly - in brownish, ocher, olive tones with specks.
Handsome men against monogamy
The evolution of birds of paradise was under the predominance of sexual selection for "external effects". And chose the weaker sex! However, not all types of gentlemen can boast of bright colors and fancy decorations. An interesting pattern: the more modest the plumage of the male, the less he is prone to "polygamy" and the more exemplary family man and caring father he is. Males of such species help their only "lady of the heart" in incubation and rearing of offspring. However, most species in this respect resemble peacocks, roosters and pheasants - the owners of vast "harems".
The female bird of paradise usually lays one egg, rarely two.
After a short communication with the cavalier, the female alone builds a bowl-shaped thick-walled nest from roots, leaves, moss in the dense crown of a tree or bush. The clutch contains one (rarely two) eggs with a cream or buffy shell, with lilac, brownish and gray spots and beautiful stains from one pole to another. Incubation lasts two to three weeks, after about the same period the hatched chick leaves the nest.
It is believed that the life span of birds of paradise in natural conditions can be 10–15 years. In reality, birds are under constant threat, and four species have already been included in the Red Book. Hunting birds of paradise and selling their feathers for souvenirs is prohibited (although smuggling continues). Much more dangerous now is the rapid deforestation of tropical rainforests in New Guinea.
A resident of Papua New Guinea wears a bird of paradise feather ornament on his head.
Representatives of 21 species of birds of paradise (that is, half of the representatives of the family) today can be admired in thirty zoos around the world. However, only seven species have managed to achieve a regular appearance of offspring in captivity over the past decades. This is not enough, ornithologists need to continue breeding work. And of course, we need to save forests. Only then will future generations of people also be able to watch the amazing performances of forest dancers in their colorful outfits.
Photo: Alamy / Legion-media, Nature PL / Legion-media (x2), Alamy / Legion-media (x2), Minden / Fotodom.ru, Alamy, Nature PL (x2) / Legion-media
You will find a complete list of 155 wonders that you need to see with your own eyes in the anniversary, December issue of Vokrug Sveta magazine.
The forests of New Guinea are inhabited by beautiful birds with silky long plumage painted in bright colors. Such birds are called birds of paradise. For a long time, they were credited with healing properties and fantastic abilities.
The famous navigator and traveler Magellan became the first European who was lucky enough to learn about the existence, see the bird of paradise and even receive it as a gift. Such a gift was presented to Magellan by one of the sultans of the Moluccas.
Other travelers who happened to be in New Guinea claimed that these birds have no legs and spend their whole lives in flight.
Birds eat, according to similar rumors, heavenly dew and the first contact with the earth becomes the last for them, they immediately die. Sailors also said that birds of paradise hatch their eggs in the air, one bird acts as a nest for another.
Naturally, such stories did not go unnoticed, and more and more people wanted to purchase these birds as decorations. Merchants, who were eager to make as much profit as possible, actually removed their legs to support the legend about the leglessness of the birds of paradise. Until the 18th century, inclusive, there was no reliable information in Europe. However, over time, real, truthful facts began to arrive. John Lesem in his notes spoke in detail about how the Papuans dissect the birds of paradise and it became clear why the Europeans decided that these birds had no legs. It turned out that the hunters dried only the carcass of the bird of paradise, and the legs were cut off as unnecessary.
Over time, scientists have increasingly studied these birds and discovered their new species, and they were given names in honor of kings, emperors and other noble people because of their pomposity. At the moment, about 40 species of these birds are distinguished, differing at least in the color of their plumage.
Birds of paradise of the "Emerald" species have a bright green head and neck, on the tail there are three wide multi-colored stripes: yellow, red and mother-of-pearl.
Representatives of the species "Archduke Rudolf" are painted sapphire and have pink stripes on the chest.
Birds of paradise usually live in forests, which is their preferred habitat. The basis of the diet is insects, small lizards and frogs. Sometimes fruits can be eaten. These birds live apart from each other, alone, pairs are extremely rare.
During the performance of the courtship dance, the male tries to appear before the female in the most advantageous way. To do this, he takes many different poses, and also demonstrates the brightness and beauty of his feathers. During this period, up to 30 males of the same species can be located on the same tree at the same time, which will diligently show their beauty and try to charm the female.
When a male - a representative of the species "Legsless Salvadoran" calls a female, then in order to appear in all its glory, he raises his golden feathers and hides his head under his wing. In this form, the bird looks like a giant chrysanthemum.
They mostly perform their dances on a tree, but some individuals can put on a real show right in a clearing or edge. First, the bird chooses a place, clears it of grass and leaves, tramples down the ground to make it comfortable for her to dance. Then the male begins to equip places for females who will watch his performance. To do this, he cuts off the nearest trees and bushes and arranges places for spectators from the leaves.
For an enchanting mating performance, the male prepares a "stage" by picking leaves from bushes and trees. The Papuans have always believed that birds of paradise have magical powers. They called these birds "children of the rainbow." There were many different beliefs, according to which all species were endowed with one or another power. For example, a bird of paradise, which has a black color with bronze-green feathers, protects a person from a lightning strike.
Representatives of the "Little King" species patronized the military, it was believed that their ruby-colored feathers could save from wounds if attached to a military uniform.
Very often, the brightest and most beautiful feathers of these birds were used as decorations. They were attached to hairstyles, inserted into holes in the ears, nose. Such decorations were used not only by the natives, but also by the sultans, who decorated their clothes with such feathers. Over time, birds of paradise began to be brought to Europe on merchant ships. They were brought there again because of their beautiful plumage, which was planned to be used to decorate ladies' hats.
Birds of paradise are not heroes of fairy tales, but the most real animals. These fantastic birds are the closest relatives of our common crows, magpies and sparrows. Their pride and adornment is a bright and unusual plumage that you will not see on other birds.
Various myths and legends circulated around these birds, and the most common of them is that the birds of paradise do not have legs. And the reason for this was several bird skins that were brought by the Spaniards, in particular by one of the captains of the Magellan expedition, from the Moluccas to Europe in 1522. The skins had no legs. After that, rumors began to spread that these birds live all their lives in the air, eating "heavenly dew", and females incubate eggs on the backs of males during flights.
Paradisaea raggiana 
Wilson's Royal Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) In fact, these are ordinary birds, however, damn beautiful, which belong to the order of passeriformes. In total, there are about 45 species of these birds and almost all of them live on the Molluk Islands, New Guinea and nearby islands.
Magnificent royal bird of paradise (Cicinnurus magnificus) It is a bit difficult to give a general description of the birds of paradise, since each species has its own characteristics. Generally speaking, most of them have bright plumage, some are dark, with a metallic tint. Red, blue and yellow colors predominate. On the tail, head or sides are feathers for decoration. Most often, the males have the most beautiful coloration. Only in a few species of birds of paradise, females can also boast such beautiful plumage. The tail can be straight or long stepped.
Lophorina superba 
Reggie's Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea reggiana) But each species of this bird has its own characteristics in appearance. All of them can not be counted, so we will quickly get acquainted with only a few of them. For example, in a six-feathered bird of paradise ( Parotia lawesi) 6 thin and long feathers with tassels at the ends flaunt on the head. During mating dances, the male dissolves them in front of the female in the form of an umbrella.
six-feathered bird of paradise
Blue bird of paradise ( paradisaea rudolphi) boasts an unusual way of demonstrating its beauty during the mating dance, during which the male, hanging upside down on a branch, spreads his blue feathers.
blue bird of paradise Another bird of paradise - ribbon ( Astrapia mayeri) is the owner of the longest tail among other species. Its length is 3 times the length of the bird itself.
Ribbon bird of paradise The birds of paradise had to pay a serious price for their fabulous beauty. In the 19th century, for the sake of unusual feathers, their capture began. They went to decorate ladies' hats and other products. During several years of German colonization of the northeast of New Guinea, about 50 thousand skins of these birds were taken from this island. Thank God, hunting for them was prohibited in the 20th century, except when they are caught for keeping in large European zoos.
Paradisaea rubra 
Raggiana Bird of Paradise - Paradisaea raggiana
You can meet these birds only in the thickets of alpine forests, where they have plenty of food: fruits, insects, lizards, tree frogs, etc.
Paradisaea rudolph Usually these birds are kept alone. Couples don't meet very often. Some species are monogamous and mate for life. In this case, the male helps his companion in all "nesting" matters. There are also those that attract the female only for the duration of the current. Then she goes alone to build a nest, incubate eggs and feed chicks. Males do not take any part in this process.