Red Bird-of-Paradise

Scientific Classification

 

• Kingdom : Animalia
• Phylum   : Chordata
• Class       : Aves
• Ordo       : Passeriformes
• Family    : Paradisaeidae
• Genus     : Paradisaea
• Species   : P. Rubra
• Binomial name : Paradisaea rubra

Description

Female Red Bird-of-Paradise

Male Red Bird-of-Paradise

  

Sexually dimorphic. The adult male has dark orange-yellow head, erectile horn-like structure above each eye, dark green chin, striking deep crimson flank plumes and curled, black central pair of tail ''tapes'. The adult female has a forehead and throat dark brown and broad yellow bar on upper breast.

  Size :

Male length (excluding tail wires) : 33 cm

Female length                                 : 30 cm

Male weight                                   : 158 - 224 gram

Female weight                                : 115 - 208 gram

Diet

The diet consists mainly of fruits, berries, and arthropods.

Habitat

Lowland rainforests and hill forests : 0 - 600 meters.

Courtship

Polygynous. Displays occur at least Jully - September. Males display on traditional perches in leks. They converge on each other and display in static postures and dance moves fanning and advertising wings, flank plumes, and tail tapes.

Breeding / Nesting

 

As with other sexually dimorphic birds of paradise, the male Red Bird of Paradise is polygamous. It also has one of the most complex courtship display of the whole family. On high-intensity display, he performs a butterfly dance, spreading and fluttering his wings like a giant butterfly. In captivity, female builds and attends nest alone. Incubation 14-17 days, nestling period 15-20 days.

Status and Conservation

Due to ongoing habitat lost and exploitation, the Red Bird of Paradise is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

Near Threatened (IUCN)

Distribution

An Indonesia endemic, the Red Bird-of-Paradise is distributed to lowland rainforests of Waigeo and Batanta islands of West Papua. This species shares it's home with another bird of paradise, Wilson's Bird of Paradise. Hybridisation between these two species is not recorded but is expected because it is recorded for many other birds of paradise.

In Popular Culture

The red bird-of-paradise is depicted on the front side of 19992 edition of Indonesia 20000 Rupiah banknote.

Red Bird-of-Paradise featured in 20.000 rupiah banknote

source: red bird-of-paradise and Wikipedia