Spectacular Bird of Paradise....

Bird of Paradise

Cicinnurus Respublica:

The birds of paradise have long been recognised as beautiful and spectacular species, thanks to the variousness in decorative feathering, dazzling array of colours and the exaggerated, often bizarre, courtship displays, and Cicinnurus respublica is certainly no exception. Cicinnurus respublica belongs to Paradisaeidae family and also known as Wilson’s bird of paradise. The male is easily distinguished by the brilliant turquoise crown of bare skin on the back of its head, which is outstriped by lines of fine velvety black feathers with coppery-bronze iridescent glaze.

A semicircular cape of bright yellow on the upper overcoat contrasts with the crimson feathers on the rest of the back, while the upperwings are blackish-brown, with coverts edged paler brown, and with crimson tips to some of the feathers.

Bird of Paradise on Branch

The upper throat of the male bird of paradise is usually velvety black, and may have a coppery-bronze to purple gloss, while the patch of feathers on the upper breast is a glossy emerald-green, sometimes appearing blue-purple or red-purple. The central feathers of the tail are long and spiralled. The female is much less ornately embellished than the male, with the bare skin on the back of the head a much less radiant lilac-blue, and with olive to reddish-brown upperparts, dull brown wings and buff-coloured downside, with fine uniform brown-black stripes. The female also dearths the spiral tail feathers.  

Bird of Paradise Mating Rituals

Immature males are very similar in appearance to the female. The distinctive appearance of ‘Cicinnurus respublica’ is shown in full splendour during its courtship display. The male performs the display in an ‘arena’, a small, well-lit clearing surrounded by dense forest. The male carefully attends to the arena, ensuring it is free of leaf litter and other unwanted items, and also removing the leaves of sapling stems within the display area.When a potential mate arrives, the male initially adopts a characteristic ‘frozen’ stance on the stem of a sapling, before stumbling to the visiting female by performing a complicate courtship ritual, exhibiting the attractive breast shield, and keep track of the display with song and calls. Its very rare to know about the breeding behaviour of this slippery species. The first footage of the Wilson’s Bird of paradise ever to be filmed was recorded in 1996 by David Attenborough for the BBC documentary ”Attenborough in Paradise”. He did so by dropping leaves on the forest floor, which irritated the bird into clearing them away. Cicinnurus republica feeds mostly on fruit and also some small insects.

Bird of Paradise

Range & Habitat:

The Wilson’s bird of paradise is endemic to the West Papuan islands of Waigeo and Batanta, off the coast of northern West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), Indonesia. Wilson’s bird of paradise mostly inhabits hill forest, usually at elevations of around 300 metres, although it has also occasionally been recorded calling in lowland rainforest and in higher montane forests, up to 1,200 metres.