Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise

Seleucidis melanoleucus

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.
Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise - male calling, 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. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/155788/twelve-wired_bird-of-paradise_-_male_nimbokrangpapua.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/155789/twelve-wired_bird-of-paradise_-_display_ritual_nimbokrangpapua.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/155790/twelve-wired_bird-of-paradise_-_display_ritual_nimbokrangpapua.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7E-2bqwvPU Australia (continent),Birds-of-paradise,Geotagged,Indonesia,New Guinea,Nimbokrang,Papua,Papua 2023,Seleucidis melanoleucus,Spring,Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise,West Papua,Western New Guinea

Distribution

They are found in flat lowlands and swamp forests, particularly throughout New Guinea and Salawati Island, Indonesia. The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It has not been easy to breed them in captivity. The first successful captive breeding program was at Singapore's Jurong Bird Park, in 2001.
Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise - display ritual, 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. https://www.jungledragon.com/image/155787/twelve-wired_bird-of-paradise_-_male_calling_nimbokrangpapua.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/155788/twelve-wired_bird-of-paradise_-_male_nimbokrangpapua.html https://www.jungledragon.com/image/155790/twelve-wired_bird-of-paradise_-_display_ritual_nimbokrangpapua.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7E-2bqwvPU Australia (continent),Birds-of-paradise,Geotagged,Indonesia,New Guinea,Nimbokrang,Papua,Papua 2023,Seleucidis melanoleucus,Spring,Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise,West Papua,Western New Guinea

Behavior

The display dance of the twelve-wired bird of paradise is called a "wire-wipe display" and it is performed by males to attract females by showing their flank plumes and bare pigmented thighs. Males use their 12 flank plume "wires" to make contact with the female by brushing across the female's face and foreparts.
Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise, Jalan Korea, Papua Second observation of this bird-of-paradise, this time without a female around. Australia (continent),Geotagged,Indonesia,New Guinea,Nimbokrang,Papua,Papua 2023,Seleucidis melanoleucus,Spring,Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise,West Papua,Western New Guinea

Habitat

The sole representative of the monotypic genus "Seleucidis", the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is a bird of lowland forests. The male displays on an exposed vertical perch with his breast-shield flared. Their diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods in addition to frogs, insects, and nectar.

References:

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyParadisaeidae
GenusSeleucidis
SpeciesS. melanoleucus
Photographed in
Indonesia