Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise - male, Nimbokrang,Papua
Here's the 2nd bird-of-paradise encountered during our Papua trip.
The beautiful male of the Twelve-wired Bird-of-Paradise displays (and regularly practices) on his steady bare tree in anticipation of a female that may appear. The ritual is hardly a complicated dance, instead a matter of projecting his butt towards the female's face. The characteristic twelve wires surely play a role in the critical review by the female. A notable and easily overlooked feature of the male is the bright green inside of the mouth.
The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm long, velvet black and yellow bird-of-paradise. The male has a red iris, long black bill and rich yellow plumes along his flanks. From the rear of these plumes emerge twelve blackish, wire-like filaments, which bend back near their bases to sweep forward over the bird's hindquarters. The female is a brown bird with black-barred buffy underparts. Their feet are strong, large-clawed and pink in color.
