Magnificent Bird of Paradise
 Magnificent Bird of Paradise |
Common Name: Magnificent Bird of Paradise
Scientific name: Diphyllodes magnificus
Family: Paradisaeidae
Order: Passeriformes
Class: Aves
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
The Magnificent Bird of Paradise is a bird that is more often heard than seen, but if you do see Magnificent Bird of Paradise, they are not like any typical bird. The males' are only 19-26 cm. in length, a full grown male weighs about 194 grams. Males have darkish green breasts and wings that are covered with shiny orange feathers. Feathers on his upper neck are shaped into a cape-like fan and striped yellow. The male's tail is not like any ordinary bird rather it has two loose elongated spiral wire-like elements extending beyond the rest of the tail feathers. The females are about 19 cm. full grown and weighs less than 128 grams. The female has a olive light brown black striped breast from her lower neck to her lower tail and she has a ordinary tail. The female has a pale bluish stripe along her eyes. Both sexes have bluish beaks and bluish feet and jet black eyes.
DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT:
The Magnificent Bird of Paradise are known to live in forested uplands and lower rain forest ranging from 1800-5000 above sea level. The males are mostly heard and not seen. They can be seen in the early morning cleaning the display court. A male rarely associate with the female unless she enters his display arena. Females are seen flying around the treetops of the rain forests associating with other species such as sunbirds, honey-eaters and insect-eaters, while feeding on flowers.
BEHAVIOR:
These birds are not territorial or aggressive and are seen feeding and mixing with other species in foraging flocks. Both sexes are very active and are seen high up in the treetops but in separate groups. Males use five different types of calls. These calls are heard on or near the display court. First there is the "churrs" call that is loud and grows louder and more intense. second is a"kyong" which is a single down slurred sound. The third is a repeated "churr". Fourth is a sharp, loud slightly majestic "kyerng". The fifth call is only at the display arena and is a "ksss-ksss-ks-ks-ksss" sound. The male spends most of his time perching on his favorite horizontal tree stem waiting for a female to either fly by or be feeding with other bird species high up in the tree tops. as soon as the male locates a female near by he performs his display, which consists of five different types of performances. Mr. Rand first described the displays in the 1940's . The " breast display" is where the male inflates and deflates his breast-shield. The breast makes the male look like a over muscular bodybuilder, with chest muscles projected on both side of his ears. This display is performed on the perches or on their cleared arena. The second display is a "horizontal display " or " cape display" where the male clings to a vertical stem about one feet from the ground, shows off his yellow cape-like fan near his upper neck and spreads out his feathers of his breast shield. The "dancing display" is when the male perches onto a vertical stem and lowers his cape-like fan backwards but still spreading his breast-shield and opens his mouth to show off his to his female companion his mouth coloration. The "back display" has a male clinging to a horizontal tree limb, jerking his body side to side, and sometimes turning around to show off bright colorations on his back. Copulation occur on the display site and than the female is left to raise the young on her own.
DIET:
Magnificent Bird of Paradise are seen feeding on flowers in the tree tops of the rain forests. Both the male and female are seen feeding with other birds such as such as Sunbirds, honeyeaters, and small insect eaters. Magnificent Bird of Paradise diet consists of 80% fruit such as drupe berries, figs, and other tree fruits and 20% small insects such as ants, beetles, and crickets.
REPRODUCTION AND GROWTH:
Female Magnificent Bird of Paradise have more than one mate. The female constructs her nest out of mosses, leaves, and other plant fibers. The female lays only two eggs; the eggs are yellow with brown and gray markings. The female regurgitates her food to feed her young nestling. The young opens their eyes at six to seven days. Their head, back, and wings are feathered after eleven days. The female is free from their duties after thirty-eight days because the nestlings are able to survive on their own. Males are considered to be full grown after 3-6 yrs, when his tail wires are fully grown. The breeding season for the Magnificent Bird of Paradise is around the months of July till December.
CONSERVATON STATUS:
The Magnificent Bird of Paradise are not at risk in New Guinea. They are very widespread and common . The Magnificent Bird of Paradise tail wires are worn by the men of the Wahgi Valley as hair decorations.
SUGGESTED READING:
The Birds of Paradise, Cooper, William T., Clifford B. Frith and Bruce M. Beehler, Oxford U. Press, 1998.
Birds of New Guinea, Beehler, Bruce M, Thane K Pratt, and Dale a. Zimmerman, Princeton U. Press, 2nd ed. 2002 ( 1986).
INTERESTING WEB SITES:
Birds of Paradise Paradisaeidae
(Mahalo to Leeward Community College's Zoology 101 Class for their contribution)
