Birds of Paradise - Photo Gallery - National Geographic Magazine

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Birds of Paradise

New Guinea's birds of paradise have the campiest costumes and the craziest mating game in the feathered kingdom.

/2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/1-red-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/1-red-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Paradisaea rubra
Framed by its wiry tail feathers, a red bird of paradise is nature's valentineâan apt emblem for this family of birds famous for fanciful plumage and elaborate courtship rituals.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073211 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/2-blue-bird-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/2-blue-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Paradisaea rudolphi
Some male birds of paradise call and display their showy feathers with other males, but the blue bird of paradise is a solo performer.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073219 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/3-goldie-bird-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/3-goldie-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Paradisaea decora
Flamboyant feathers draw female attentionâand once made birds of paradise prime targets for plume hunters. Rather than going solo, the Goldie's bird calls and displays with other males.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073206 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/4-carola-bird-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/4-carola-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Parotia carolae
The "ballerina dance" is one of at least six distinct moves in the repertoire of Carola's parotia, which has the most complex courting ritual in the bird of paradise family. Females scrutinize his act from above.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073216 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/5-new-guinea-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/5-new-guinea-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073204 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/6-astrapia-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/6-astrapia-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Astrapia mayeri
Trailing a streamer three times the length of its foot-long (0.3 meter) body, the ribbon-tailed astrapia boasts the longest tail of any bird. Such an encumbered bird would be easy prey in most places, but in New Guinea predators are few. Genetic innovations endure if they offer an advantage in luring a mate.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073215 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/7-king-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/7-king-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Cicinnurus regius
Set off by white breast feathers and brilliant blue feet, the king is the smallest of the birds of paradise.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073217 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/8-parotia-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/8-parotia-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Parotia sefilata
Caught in just the right light, the Western parotia's rich iridescent neck feathers set off the velvety black that dominates the rest of its body.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073212 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/9-magnificent-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/9-magnificent-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Cicinnurus magnificus
Far more vivid than its crow-like ancestor, a magnificent bird of paradise perches on a branch in its mountainous New Guinea habitat.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073221 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/10-twelve-wired-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/10-twelve-wired-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Seleucidis melanoleuca
A male twelve-wired bird of paradise ensures a solo performance by displaying and calling from a dead snag, its stage of choice.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073203 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/11-red-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/11-red-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Paradisaea rubra
A red bird of paradise spreads its wings elegantly in a New Guinea mountain forest.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073210 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/12-astrapia-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/12-astrapia-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Astrapia stephaniae
Foraging on its own, a Stephanie's astrapia's long black tail feathers, green head, and short bill make it easy to identify.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073220 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/13-manucodes-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/13-manucodes-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Manucodia comrii
All birds of paradise descend from crow-like ancestors, but only manucodes still look the part. Males and females are nearly identical and likely monogamous, unlike their flashy, flirtatious kin.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073207 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/14-astrapia-bird-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/14-astrapia-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Astrapia mayeri
A ribbon-tailed astrapia feeds on the abundance of fruit that thrives on New Guinea.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073213 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/15-blue-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/15-blue-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Paradisaea rudolphi
A blue bird of paradise feasts on New Guinea's bounty of fruit. With food plentiful for females and chicks, males' energy has shifted over time from parental duties to producing lavish plumage and luring mates.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073218 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/16-wilson-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/16-wilson-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Cicinnurus respublica
Colorful as a court jesterâand almost as comicalâa male Wilson's bird of paradise woos a mate. He begins by clearing his perch...]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073208 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/17-wilson-bird-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/17-wilson-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Cicinnurus respublica
â¦ Then, with whispered buzzes and clicks, he flashes his chest and shakes his handlebar mustache of a tail.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073209 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/18-saxony-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/18-saxony-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Pteridophora alberti
Plumes such as the King of Saxony's graceful head ribbons offer ancestral strength to the people who wear them, according to local belief.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1073214 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/19-guinea-clan-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/19-guinea-clan-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/20-sicklebill-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/20-sicklebill-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Drepanornis albertisi
Rarely witnessed and never before photographed, a buff-tailed sicklebill shows off its pectoral collar to a female watching from above. The sicklebill's long curved beak helps it probe trees and leaf litter for insects that make up the bulk of its diet.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1075507 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/21-goldie-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/21-goldie-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Paradisaea decora
After a raucous performance of piercing calls and paddling wings, a male Goldie's bird attempts to mate with a female. Goldie's birds perform in leksâgatherings of numerous males in a single treeâmaking for an impressive concert that lures females from afar.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1075509 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/22-new-guineans-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/22-new-guineans-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/23-astrapia-bird-714.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/23-astrapia-bird-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman Astrapia mayeri
The ribbon-tailed astrapia's white feathers grow up to three feet (one meter) long and likely signal health and fertility to females. This young male's tail may not have reached its full length.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1075505 /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/24-huli-wigmen-475h.jpg /2007/07/birds-of-paradise/img/24-huli-wigmen-60.jpg Photograph by Tim Laman