What Is A Bird Of Paradise?

In New Guinea, Australia and sometimes in the smaller Indonesian islands, there is a group of several colourful birds belonging to the crow family that is known as Birds of Paradise.  They are tropical birds with winsomely colourful plumage.  The male bird is much more colourful and elegant than the female one.   The breeding period is preceded by months of persuasion on the male bird's behalf to attract as many females as he could – for this purpose he engages into complicated dances and even utters whistles and calls.   However after he has mated with the female bird, it is the female who is engaged in the building of the nest and later on taking care of the offspring after giving birth to the baby birds.  Altogether there are 43 different known species of the Birds of Paradise ranging from the silky-feathered brown paradise crow to the plumbed, scarlet, white and green King of Saxony's bird of paradise.

There are about 50 different kinds of birds of paradise, but they are all found in the tropical islands of the Western Pacific and in Northern Australia.Birds of Paradise range in size from that of a crow to that of a sparrow, and each kind has its own special pattern of brilliant colours. It is this display of brilliant colours in their plumage that makes these birds so unusual. But these beautiful birds are actually related to the common crow.

The first Europeans to see these birds were the early Dutch explorers in the fifteenth century. They looked so beautiful that these men believed the birds were fed from the dews of heaven and the nectar of flowers, which explains their name.Only the males have the brilliant plumage. The reason for this is not yet understood. It may be to attract the females, or it may be to draw-natural enemies away from the nests of the mother and the young and so protect them.

Most birds of paradise build flimsy, platform-like nests in the tree-tops. In these they lay their streaked and spotted eggs. The birds eat almost anything they can find, from fruit to snails and insects.During the mating season, the male birds gather and show off their fine feathers before the females. While these birds are usually wary, at this time they concentrate so much on showing off that hunters can shoot them at close range. The natives used to shoot them with blunt arrows so as not to injure the plumes.