Bird-of-paradise is the name given to certain kinds of birds with plumage of many dazzling colors. The plumage grows in many unusual forms.
There are 43 known kinds of birds-of-paradise. Most of them live on the tropical island of New Guinea and on smaller neighboring islands. A few kinds live in northern Australia. The bird-of-paradise also was introduced to Little Tobago, an island in the West Indies. This island is the only place in the Western Hemisphere where the bird lives in its wild state. Birds-of-paradise live in forests. They feed on fruits and insects.
Europeans learned of these beautiful birds early in the 1400’s. Bird-of-paradise skins with the legs removed were used as articles of trade in Java at that time. In this way began the mistaken idea that birds-of-paradise flew continually around the sun and dropped to earth only when they died. The Swedish naturalist Linnaeus believed this story. In 1753 he named the greater bird-of-paradise Paradisaea apoda, which means footless paradise bird. Before the mating season the male birds-of-paradise gather in a tree to display themselves to the dull-colored females by strutting, dancing, and spreading their plumes. After mating, the birds build nests. The female lays from one to three spotted white eggs.
The greater bird-of-paradise is one of the largest kinds. It is about the size of a crow. Its forehead and throat are a glittering emerald green. The head is golden yellow, and the wings and tail are maroon. A dense mass of plumes about 2 feet (61 centimeters) long springs from under the wings. The lesser bird-of-paradise looks much like the greater bird-of-paradise.
The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise is about as large as a robin. It is black, with a yellow belly and wings edged with yellow. Two long shafts grow from the sides of its head. Attached to each shaft is a series of small parts of feathers. They make the shaft look like a wire hung with many little bright-blue flags.
The little king bird-of-paradise has shining scarlet feathers, a white belly, and a band of brilliant emerald green across its breast. On each side of the breast grow tufts of feathers tipped with a green hue which gleams like metal. These tufts can be spread out like fans. The two middle feathers of the tail are like long bare wires which end in spiral emerald-colored disks.
Wilson’s bird-of-paradise has bare patches of cobalt-blue skin on its head. On the back of its neck is a tuft of yellow feathers which can be raised to form a halo. The back of the bird is scarlet, and the breast is a dazzling moss-green. The narrow central feathers of the tail are blue. They curve across each other and then curl spirally into a circle.
Many birds-of-paradise have been killed by plume hunters, who sold their beautiful feathers for decorations on hats. It is now forbidden to kill these birds. Laws forbid the importation of the plumage of birds-of-paradise into the United States.
