Purple-naped bird of paradise

Purple-naped bird of paradise

As with all birds of paradise, there is a strong sexual dimorphism in the purple-naped bird of paradise. This means that males and females look very different. The male is an almost completely black-coloured bird with a white forehead and golden-green breast feathers. This colouring is special because it is caused by structural colours. As a result, the male's breast shimmers back and forth between blue-green and orange-yellow when it moves. In addition, the males of the purple-naped bird of paradise have three long wire-like decorative feathers on each side of the head, which give them their characteristic appearance. The female, on the other hand, is an inconspicuous brown bird with a black-coloured head and striped underside.

Nutrition

It feeds mainly on fruit, but does not disdain small animals such as insects, spiders and lizards. It finds these in the foliage of the treetops at a height of between 20 m and 30 m.

Distribution

The purple-naped bird of paradise is only found in the south-east of New Guinea. The habitat for this bird of paradise is mountain forests at an altitude of between 500 m and 2300 m, but also forest remnants and gardens near human dwellings.

The breeding season is between June and January. During this time, the males meet in certain mating arenas to attract females with their loud songs. They decorate their personal mating place with feathers, fur or snake skins. When a female appears, the males perform their characteristic courtship dance, which is very reminiscent of a ballet dancer, to persuade the female to mate. After mating, the female takes care of building the nest and rearing the young alone. The nest usually consists of only one egg, rarely two.

Although the purple-naped bird of paradise only occurs in eastern New Guinea and is now close to humans, this does not appear to have had a major effect on its population. It is still common on New Guinea and is therefore fortunately not threatened with extinction.