Black sicklebill - 1, Minggre, Arfak Mountains, Papua

One of the most perplexing and memorable observations in our travel career. This is the hardest bird-of-paradise to get to in this area. We had to get up at 3AM and do some significant hiking on very steep terrain to be on time for this bird's morning ritual.

The ritual is quite different from other birds-of-paradise. The Black Sicklebill rehearses it's puzzling display on a bare tree, about 3-5 times at dawn, and that's it. Typically a female isn't even watching.

The display itself boggles the mind. After some stretching, the bird suddenly transforms into a comet-like shape. As it is a dark bird, you lose any sense of depth or where each body part went. Then, the shape rotates around the tree like a clock and does push-ups, as if physics temporarily do not apply.

It's really hard to demonstrate with photos, and it was very dark, but hopefully this series gives an impression. The supplemental video is mandatory viewing!