Gallery: Videos: Rare Glimpses of Amazing Birds-of-Paradise Courtship Rituals
Tim Laman, Tim Laman01goldies-bird-of-paradise
Birds of paradise have evolved into very conspicuous animals with orange, red and turquoise plumage and ornate wire-like feathers that have captured the imagination of scientists and bird enthusiasts alike. Their showy features are a delight to behold, but they would also make them an easy target for hungry cats and other predatory mammals -- if there were any around. The absence of such predators is precisely what allowed these otherwise impractical species to evolve. "There was an evolutionary opportunity to develop that kind of extravagance," ornithologist Ed Scholes of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology said. "They're a quirk of geography." More than 20 years ago, wildlife photographer Tim Laman saw his first birds of paradise, the Standardwing and the Red Bird of Paradise, while traveling in Indonesia. He started imagining a project to photograph every species of these birds in their [natural habitats](http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/07/birds-of-paradise/video-map-interactive) of New Guinea and parts of Australia. "It was one of the dream assignments on my list," said [Laman](http://timlaman.com/), who's also a rainforest biologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard. Laman, whose work often focuses on conservation, finally pitched the project to National Geographic in 2003. He teamed up with Scholes, and during the next three years the pair made five trips to New Guinea and managed to photograph about half of the 39 species of birds of paradise. After eight years, Laman and Scholes completed their mission of photographing all of the bird-of-paradise species, including the ballerina-like bronze parotia, which only recently was recognized as the 39th species. The project took Laman and Scholes through more than 200 flights, 18 expeditions and thousands of hours spent hiding in blinds as high as 50 meters above ground. They set up a battery-powered jungle ethernet and remote-controlled cameras hooked up to laptops to take the nearly 40,000 photographs that comprise the [Birds of Paradise Project](http://birdsofparadiseproject.org/). Here is a selection of some of the best videos and photos from their avian adventures. __Above:__ ### Goldie’s Bird-of-Paradise Goldie’s birds-of-paradise live on two or three islands on the western edge of Papua New Guinea. Males coordinate their displays and their calls sound almost like an intense duet, says Scholes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTR21os8gTA
Tim Laman02magnificent-riflebird-bird-of-paradise
Magnificent Riflebird --------------------- Unlike greater birds-of-paradise, the magnificent riflebird prefers to court females alone. He perches himself on a horizontal vine and transforms himself from a normal black bird into a “headless ovoid thing,” Scholes said. He hides his head behind his wings to reveal metallic blue feathers. As he hops around looking like a UFO trying to land, he flaps his wings and produces a buzzing sound that resembles fabric tearing, according to Scholes. Male riflebirds are able to make that sound because their feathers have a soft, rounded edge, Scholes says. When a male riflebird spreads his wings, they look rounded instead of jagged like other birds. They may not be the most aerodynamically efficient wings, but they are beautiful to look at. “No other birds have this adaptation. It’s purely for the purposes of courtship,” Scholes said. Magnificent riflebirds can still fly, but not for long distances. Laman spent 80 hours hidden inside a blind to document the riflebird’s audiovisual, alien-like mating dance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Sj-UdjqlFw
Tim Laman03greater-bird-of-paradise
Greater Bird-of-Paradise ------------------------ Male greater birds-of-paradise congregate in groups of up to 20 to court females in the canopies of New Guinea rain forests. Even though they’re competing for females, their displays are highly synchronized and coordinated, says Scholes. They display their wispy feathers and jump around from branch to branch. There is some evidence suggesting that females prefer males who are part of more coordinated crowds. But that doesn’t mean all males in that pack will get equal access to the ladies because most females tend to choose the same male. This one-male-for-all-females strategy is common among all birds-of-paradise and it's part of the reason “why the process of evolution has been so extreme for these birds,” said Scholes. “The males with the most extreme characteristics are the ones fathering all the offspring.” For years, Laman dreamed of taking a photograph of this bird with the sun in the background. After lots of climbing, waiting and good luck, he was finally able to take it with the help of a hidden "leaf cam" he set up in the trees. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIYkpwyKEhY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j\_ll0DbSjLE
Tim Laman04lesser-bird-of-paradise
Lesser Bird-of-Paradise ----------------------- These birds are smaller versions of the greater bird-of-paradise. They also have wispy colorful Mohawk-forming feathers, which made them targets for bird hunters in the 1900s looking to sell them to fashion houses as decoration for women’s hats. Hunting doesn’t pose a big threat to these animals because by the time they’ve developed their beautiful feathers, they’ve reached adulthood and likely have had the chance to mate. Habitat destruction from logging is a concern, however. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57xmMbZ9QfY
Tim Laman05twelve-wired-bird-of-paradise
Twelve-Wired Bird-of-Paradise ----------------------------- These birds live in lowland swamp forests. Males prefer courting females atop vertical poles or branches. “They’re playing a game or dance where she moves to the top and he positions himself so he can get her to come back down and get on top of her,” said Scholes. As shown in the video, a yellow and purple male shimmies down a branch, tail first, wiggling 12 wire-like extensions in the female’s face. During this very tactile display, he moves back and forth several times, touching her. “For some reason, females have found it appealing to be whipped by those wires before they mate,” said Scholes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7E-2bqwvPU
Tim Laman06western-parotia-bird-of-paradise
Western Parotia --------------- The male Western Parotia is a little bit of a neat freak, at least when it comes to the places where he woos females. He removes leaves and branches to create a stage for courtship dances, says Scholes. All adult males keep one. Above these ‘stages,’ there is at least one raised horizontal perch from which a female can watch the male bow and “transform himself into what looks like a ballerina wearing a tutu dancing around on the forest floor,” said Scholes. He moves quickly from side to side and wiggles his upper body to reveal bright blue and yellow feathers. All the while, he’s spinning six wire-like feathers around his head. These extensions are topped with what Scholes calls tiny spatula-shaped paddles that look like flies moving around the male’s head, Scholes says. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O139mm3yl3E
Tim Laman07king-bird-of-paradise
King Bird-of-Paradise --------------------- This little red guy is one of the smallest birds of paradise. Males court females from high in the canopy by puffing their feathers into a fan-like shape and using two emerald-green iridescent disks at the end of their central tail feathers. These feathers have been modified into two long wires with a tightly curled spiral at the end. “They really look like little jewels,” said Scholes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFQ9VQ5jyw8
Tim Laman08king-of-saxony-bird-of-paradise
King of Saxony -------------- The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise, one of Scholes’ favorite birds, lives in the mountain cloud forests of New Guinea, where adult males are sometimes hunted for their feathers. The locals use the males’ beautiful plumes to decorate headdresses. King of Saxony males are pretty dull looking until they’re about four of five years old. At that age, they shed their brown feathers for black and brilliant-yellow plumes. Males also have two striped feathers that are almost twice the length of their body. These antenna-like feathers are “unlike any other feather in the world,” Scholes said. Like normal feathers, they're made of keratin, but their substructure is quite different. The tiny branches that come off the central rod have fused together to form a fingernail-like material, Scholes says. A male can set them down on his back or spin them around his head like helicopter blades as he bounces on branches trying to attract females. Sometimes he matches these displays with calls that sound “like the firing of a ray gun out of a science fiction movie,” said Scholes. “It’s hard to even call it a song because it sounds so unmusical.” Once a female comes to his side, he ceases to make the machine-like sounds. Instead he makes softer, whistling chirps. He points the bright white side of his antenna-feathers towards the female, puffs up his black feathers to look like a cape, and bounces along his vine, which "accentuates the sweeping effect of the feathers," Scholes said. These birds are not endangered, but their populations may be decreasing due to habitat loss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdNyeasi0GI
Tim Laman09wilsons-bird-of-paradise
Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise ------------------------- “This guy is a riot of color,” said Scholes. He looks a bit like a Mondrian painting. His shiny blue head is covered with skin rather than feathers, which is unusual. The male Wilson’s bird-of-paradise clears a stage for his courtship rituals, similar to another species, the Western Parotia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvIuUABZkiI
