Greater Bird of Paradise...

Paradisaea Apoda 

Paradisaea Apoda:

The Greater Bird of paradise is a Bird which bleongs to Paradisaea family. Carolus Linnaeus named this Bird of paradise (Paradisaea apoda). Paradisaea is a Latin word which means paradise, and the word Apoda also extracted from Latin, that means footless or legless,  this guided to the disagreement that these birds were beautiful tourists from paradise that were kept high by their quills and never came over to the earth until death. It is named so because its first trade skins taken to Europe were organized with legs removed. Greater

bird common name opposes its bigger size with the similar but smaller, Lesser bird of paradise.

Paradisaea Apoda

Behaviour:

The Greater Bird of paradise is the largest member in the genus Paradisaea, with males average measured length is up to 43 cm (excluding the long central tail wires). While the adult female length is measured at only 35 cm. This spcies plumage is also sexually dimorphic. The adult male has yellow head (not yellow as in lesser bird of paradise), brown back underparts and brown wings, an iridescent green throat, central wire tail feathers and yellow glossed thready flank feathers. 

Paradisaea Apoda Mating Rituals

The rest of the body plumage is maroon-brown. The flank plumes, used in displays, are yellow at the bottom, changing white and striped with maroon. The female has shades of maroon brown plumage all over. In both male and female the iris is yellow and the beak is blue. This species is Polygynous. Adult males use traditional tree show perches in lekking system, with upto 15 adult males on a single lek, plus females plumaged younger males. Adult male concisely holds wings in front of body and throws flank quills over back then jumps up and back along perchrising and lowering the beak on each turn.

Paradisaea Apoda

Habitat:

The Greater Bird of paradise is spread out to lowland and hill forests of southwest New Guinea and Aru Islands, Indonesia. The greater bird of paradise food consists mostly of fruits, seeds and small insects. A small population was recognized by Sir William Ingram in 1909-1912 to Little Tobago Island of West Indies in an attempt to save the species from extinction due to overhunting for plume trades. The introduced populations survived until at least 1966, but most likely are fading now.