Paradisaea Birds-of-Paradise: Lesser, Red, Blue, Emperor's, Goldie's and Raggiana Species | Sea Life, Islands and Oceania

PARADISAEA BIRDS-OF-PARADISE

lesser birds-of-paradise

The genus Paradisaea consists of six or seven species of birds-of-paradise (family Paradisaeidae). The genus is found on the island of New Guinea in both Papua New Guinea and West Papua in Indonesia as well as the nearby islands groups of the Aru Islands,Islands and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia and D'Entrecasteaux in Papua New Guinea. The species inhabit a range of forest types from sea level to mid-montane forests. The name, Paradisaea, is the Latinized form of "paradise". The local name in Indonesia is cenderawasih. [Source: Wikipedia]

The greater birds-of-paradise and Raggiana bird-of-paradise are distributed over a fairly wide area. Other species have a more restricted range. All species have disjunct distributions. A 2009 study examining the mitochondrial DNA of the family found that the Paradisaea birds-of-paradise were in a clade with the genus Cicinnurus. The study also showed It showed that the blue bird-of-paradise was a sister taxon to all the other species in this genus.

All members of the Paradisaea genus are fairly large, and sexually dimorphic. While the females are rather plain-looking the males have colorful and frilly plumage that includes characteristic grossly elongated flank plumes which emerge from beneath the wings during courtship displays. and a pair of wire-like feathers emerging from the end of the tail.

Males are large and brightly colored, with showy flank plumes. Females are brown, with same general shape as males but without display plumes. During courtship displays, males shake their colorful plumes. They typically perform in groups in the rainforest canopy. After mating there are no long-term bonds. Males provide no parental care. These birds are found at elevations to 2,000 meters (6,560 feet). [Source: Cornell Ornithology Lab]

Greater Birds-of-Paradise

Greater birds-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda) are found in the lowlands and hill forests of southwest New Guinea and Aru Islands of Indonesia. They mainly feed on fruits, seeds and small insects. Greater bird-of-paradise are a symbol of the soul and eternal life among the islands where they are found. [Source: "Ring of Fire" by Lawrence and Lorne Blair, Bantam Books, New York]

Carl Linnaeus named the species Paradisaea apoda — "legless bird-of-paradise" — because the early specimens that reach Europe were prepared without wings or feet by local New Guinean people. This led to the belief that these birds were visitors from paradise that were kept aloft by their beautiful plumes and never touched the earth until the died.

Greater birds-of-paradise are not endangered. They are fairly common throughout their native range. They are listed as a species of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. /=\

Lesser Birds-of-Paradise

Breeding range of the greater Bird-of-paradise (yellow) and the Raggiana bird-of-paradise (orange); the striped area is where hybrids and mixed leks occur

Lesser birds-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor) are medium-sized birds up to 32 centimeters-long, excluding central tail wires that males have, and are maroon-brown with a yellow crown and brownish-yellow upper back. Males have a dark emerald-green throat, a pair of long tail-wires and are adorned with ornamental flank plumes which are deep yellow at their base and fade outwards into white. Females are maroon with a dark-brown head and whitish underparts. They resemble larger greater birds-of-paradise, but the male of that species has a dark chest, whereas the female is entirely brown (no whitish underparts). [Source: Wikipedia, Australia Museum[

Lesser birds-of-paradise are found throughout northern New Guinea, and the nearby islands of Misool and Yapen in Indonesia. On New Guinea they range from Bird's Head Peninsula (Vogelkop) in West Papua, Indonesia eastward as far as mouth of Gogol River, upper Ramu River, and along the north-west coast of Huon Peninsula in easterm Papua New Guinea. They can be found in lowland and hill forest, swamp forest, forest edges and secondary growth and can adapt to human-modified environments up to elevations of 1550 meters (5085 feet). Their diet consists mainly of fruits and insects.

They are not endangered and are fairly widespread and common. They are listed as a species of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. /=\

The breeding season of lesser birds-of-paradises lasts from July to February. Females build and attend nests alone. They may lay up to 12 pinkish eggs with dark markings but generally lay around two. Nests are bulky open cups, built in tree branches high above ground. Males are polygamous, and perform courtship displays in leks gatherings of male birds that perform courtship displays to attract females) above the ground in a “court”.

According to the Australia Museum: Lekking males attend traditional tree perches that they defoliate. Up to 12 adult males may display in single lek tree, often with several female-plumaged young males in attendance. Dominant and older males occupy centre of lek and perform most copulations. Male briefly holds wings in front of body and throws flank plumes over back, then hops up and back along perch raising or lowering bill on each trip; he again raises plumes over back before moving to low point of perch and hanging facing downwards with plumes out; male lowers body along perch, extends wings, erects plumes and hops along branch calling, followed by bending forward over perch, extending wings and plumes.

Alfred Russel Wallace on the Lesser Bird of Paradise

Alfred Russel Wallace wrote in the “The Malay Archipelago”: “The Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisea papuana of Bechstein)is a much smaller bird than the [Lesser Bird of Paradise], although very similar to it. It differs in its lighter brown colour, not becoming darker or purpled on the breast; in the extension of the yellow colour all over the upper part of the back and on the wing coverts; in the lighter yellow of the side plumes, which have only a tinge of orange, and at the tips are nearly pure white; and in the comparative shortness of the tail cirrhi. The female differs remarkably front the same sex in Paradisea apoda, by being entirely white on the under surface of the body, and is thus a much handsomer bird. The young males are similarly coloured, and as they grow older they change to brown, and go through the same stages in acquiring the perfect plumage as has already been described in the allied species. It is this bird which is most commonly used in ladies' head-dresses in this country, and also forms an important article of commerce in the East. [Source: Alfred Russel Wallace, “The Malay Archipelago,” published in London in 1869 ]

“The Paradisea papuana has a comparatively wide range, being the common species on the mainland of New Guinea, as well as on the islands of Mysol, Salwatty, Jobie, Biak and Sook. On the south coast of New Guinea, the Dutch naturalist, Muller, found it at the Oetanata river in longitude 136̊ E. I obtained it myself at Dorey; and the captain of the Dutch steamer Etna informed me that he had seen the feathers among the natives of Humboldt Bay, in 141̊ E. longitude. It is very probable, therefore, that it ranges over the whole of the mainland of New Guinea.

“The true Paradise Birds are omnivorous, feeding on fruits and insects—of the former preferring the small figs; of the latter, grasshoppers, locusts, and phasmas, as well as cockroaches and caterpillars. When I returned home, in 1862, I was so fortunate as to find two adult males of this species in Singapore; and as they seemed healthy, and fed voraciously on rice, bananas, and cockroaches, I determined on giving the very high price asked for them—£100.—and to bring them to England by the overland route under my own care. On my way home I stayed a week at Bombay, to break the journey, and to lay in a fresh stock of bananas for my birds. I had great difficulty, however, in supplying them with insect food, for in the Peninsular and Oriental steamers cockroaches were scarce, and it was only by setting traps in the store-rooms, and by hunting an hour every night in the forecastle, that I could secure a few dozen of these creatures,—scarcely enough for a single meal. At Malta, where I stayed a fortnight, I got plenty of cockroaches from a bake-house, and when I left, took with me several biscuit-tins' full, as provision for the voyage home. We came through the Mediterranean in March, with a very cold wind; and the only place on board the mail-steamer where their large cage could be accommodated was exposed to a strong current of air down a hatchway which stood open day and night, yet the birds never seemed to feel the cold. During the night journey from Marseilles to Paris it was a sharp frost; yet they arrived in London in perfect health, and lived in the Zoological Gardens for one, and two years, often displaying their beautiful plumes to the admiration of the spectators. It is evident, therefore, that the Paradise Birds are very hardy, and require air and exercise rather than heat; and I feel sure that if a good sized conservators' could be devoted to them, or if they could be turned loose in the tropical department of the Crystal Palace or the Great Palm House at Kew, they would live in this country for many years.”

Raggiana Birds-of-Paradise

Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) are also known as Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise, kumul and cenderawasih. Distributed over a large area of southern and eastern New Guinea, they are the national bird of Papua New Guinea. In 1971 they made the national emblem and were included on the national flag. 'The Kumuls' ("birds-of-paradise" in Tok Pisin) is also the nickname of the country's national rugby league team. [Source: Wikipedia]

Raggiana birds-of-paradise are fairly large birds, measuring 34 centimeters (13 inches) in lngth. They are maroon-brown, with a greyish-blue bill, yellow iris and greyish-brown feet. Males have a yellow crown, dark emerald-green throat and yellow collar between their throat and blackish upper breast feathers. They are adorned with a pair of long black tail wires and large flank plumes. Females are comparatively drab — maroonish-brown in color and lacking the long tail feather that males have. The ornamental flank plumes of males vary from red to orange in color, depending on subspecies. The nominate subspecies, P. r. raggiana, has the deepest red plumes, while the subspecies P. r. augustavictoriae of northeast New Guinea, also known as the Empress of Germany's bird-of-paradise, has apricot-orange plumes.

Raggiana birds-of-paradise feed mainly on fruits and insects. They are important seed dispersers of some fruiting trees in New Guinea, especially some species of mahogany and nutmeg. Raggiana birds-of-paradise are not endangered. They are common throughout the tropical forests of eastern New Guinea. They are evaluated as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and listed in CITES Appendix II, even though their plumes are widely used for ceremonial headdresses by local people, a practice that does not threaten their long-term survival.

Raggiana birds-of-paradise are polygamous. Males congregate in leks (display arenas for visiting females) that can be 30 to 100 meters in diameter. Within the lek there is a group of tall slender trees on which males compete for prominent perches and defend them from rivals. On these perches males do their displays which involve clapping their wings and shaking their head. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure composed of leaves and leaf pieces, stems, ferns and other plant fibres. It is lined with horsehair-like material and is situated two to 11 meters above the ground on tree branches. The position of the nest may be higher in areas where humans disturb the nest. Females lays a clutch of one to two (usually two) pinkish buff eggs. The incubation period has been recorded as 18 days in the wild and 20 days in captivity. As in all polygamous birds-of-paradise, the female alone does all the incubation duties.

Red Birds-of-Paradise

Red birds-of-paradise(Paradisaea rubra) are also known as cendrawasih merah. They measure up to 33 centimeters long, excluding tail feathers, and are brown and yellow with dark brown irises, grey legs and a yellow bill. Males have an emerald green face, a pair of elongated black corkscrew-shaped tail wires, dark green feather pompoms above each eye and a train of glossy crimson red plumes with whitish tips at either side of the breast. Males measure up to 72 centimeters long if their ornamental red plumes — that require at least six years to fully attain — are included. Females are smaller in size, with a dark brown face and lacking ornamental red plumes. Their diet consists mainly of fruits, berries and insects and other arthropods. [Source: Wikipedia, Australian Museum]

Red birds-of-paradise were depicted on the front side of 1992 edition of Indonesia 20000 Rupiah banknote. Endemic to Indonesia, they live in lowland rainforests on Waigeo, Gemien, Saonek and Batanta Islands in the Rajah Ampat group of West Papua. They share their home range with another bird-of-paradise, the 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. Their conservation status is Near Threatened. Their population is relatively small and is in a restricted range, and is possibly declining due to habitat loss.

Red bird-of-paradise

Red birds-of-paradise are polygynous. The breeding season is unknown but males display from at least July to 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. No nests from the wild have been. In captivity, females build and attend their nests alone. Incubation is14 to 17 days. The nestling period is 15 to 20 days.

Alfred Russel Wallace on the Red Bird of Paradise

Alfred Russel Wallace wrote in the “The Malay Archipelago”: “The Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisea rubra of Viellot), though allied to the two birds already described, is much more distinct from them than they are from each other. It is about the same size as Paradisea papuana (13 to 14 inches long), but differs from it in many particulars. The side plumes, instead of being yellow, are rich crimson, and only extend about three or four inches beyond the end of the tail; they are somewhat rigid, and the ends are curved downwards and inwards, and are tipped with white. The two middle tail feathers, instead of being simply elongated and deprived of their webs, are transformed into stiff black ribands, a quarter of an inch wide, but curved like a split quill, and resembling thin half cylinders of horn or whalebone. When a dead bird is laid on its back, it is seen that these ribands take a curve or set, which brings them round so as to meet in a double circle on the neck of the bird; but when they hang downwards, during life, they assume a spiral twist, and form an exceedingly graceful double curve. They are about twenty-two inches long, and always attract attention as the most conspicuous and extraordinary feature of the species. The rich metallic green colour of the throat extends over the front half of the head to behind the eyes, and on the forehead forms a little double crest of scaly feathers, which adds much to the vivacity of the bird's aspect. The bill is gamboge yellow, and the iris blackish olive. [Source: Alfred Russel Wallace, “The Malay Archipelago,” published in London in 1869 ]

“The female of this species is of a tolerably uniform coffee-brown colour, but has a blackish head, and the nape neck, and shoulders yellow, indicating the position of the brighter colours of the male. The changes of plumage follow the same order of succession as in the other species, the bright colours of the head and neck being first developed, then the lengthened filaments of the tail, and last of all, the red side plumes. I obtained a series of specimens, illustrating the manner in which the extraordinary black tail ribands are developed, which is very remarkable. They first appear as two ordinary feathers, rather shorter than the rest of the tail; the second stage would no doubt be that shown in a specimen of Paradisea apoda, in which the feathers are moderately lengthened, and with the web narrowed in the middle; the third stage is shown by a specimen which has part of the midrib bare, and terminated by a spatulate web; in another the bare midrib is a little dilated and semi-cylindrical, and the terminal web very small; in a fifth, the perfect black horny riband is formed, but it bears at its extremity a brown spatulate web, while in another a portion of the black riband itself bears, for a portion of its length, a narrow brown web. It is only after these changes are fully completed that the red side plumes begin to appear.

“The successive stages of development of the colours and plumage of the Birds of Paradise are very interesting, from the striking manner in which they accord with the theory of their having been produced by the simple action of variation, and the cumulative power of selection by the females, of those male birds which were more than usually ornamental. Variations of colour are of all others the most frequent and the most striking, and are most easily modified and accumulated by man's selection of them. We should expect, therefore, that the sexual differences of colour would be those most early accumulated and fixed, and would therefore appear soonest in the young birds; and this is exactly what occurs in the Paradise Birds. Of all variations in the form of birds' feathers, none are so frequent as those in the head and tail. These occur more, or less in every family of birds, and are easily produced in many domesticated varieties, while unusual developments of the feathers of the body are rare in the whole class of birds, and have seldom or never occurred in domesticated species. In accordance with these facts, we find the scale-formed plumes of the throat, the crests of the head, and the long cirrhi of the tail, all fully developed before the plumes which spring from the side of the body begin to mane their appearance. If, on the other hand, the male Paradise Birds have not acquired their distinctive plumage by successive variations, but have been as they are mow from the moment they first appeared upon the earth, this succession becomes at the least unintelligible to us, for we can see no reason why the changes should not take place simultaneously, or in a reverse order to that in which they actually occur.

“ The Red Bird of Paradise offers a remarkable case of restricted range, being entirely confined to the small island of Waigiou, off the north-west extremity of New Guinea, where it replaces the allied species found in the other islands. The three birds [Red Bird of Paradise, Great Bird of Paradise and Lesser Bird of Paradise] just described form a well-marked group, agreeing in every point of general structure, in their comparatively large size, the brown colour of their bodies, wings, and tail, and in the peculiar character of the ornamental plumage which distinguishes the male bird. The group ranges nearly over the whole area inhabited by the family of the Paradiseidae, but each of the species has its own limited region, and is never found in the same district with either of its close allies. To these three birds properly belongs the generic title Paradisea, or true Paradise Bird.

Emperor Birds-of-Paradise

Emperor birds-of-paradise (Paradisaea guilielmi) are also known as Emperor of Germany's birds-of-paradise. Endemic to Papua New Guinea, they feed mainly of fruits, figs, insects and other arthropods are found in primary hill and lower montane forests of the Huon Peninsula, Saruwaged, Finisterre, Rawlinson and Cromwell Ranges at elevation of 450 to 1500 meters, mainly 670 to 1350 meters.

The name honors the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, Wilhelm II of Germany. In January 1888, these birds were the last birds-of-paradise discovered by Carl Hunstein, who also discovered the blue bird-of-paradise. These two species, along with the red bird-of-paradise, are the only Paradisaea that perform inverted display. [Source: Wikipedia, Australian Museum]

Emperor birds-of-paradise are classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. Their main threats are habitat loss, logging, limited range and overhunting in some places

Emperor birds-of-paradise are yellow and brown with reddish-brown irises, a bluish-grey bill and purplish-brown legs. Males are about 33 centimeters long, excluding tail feathers, and have iridescent green facial mask and upper breast, two very long tail wires and large white ornamental flank plumes with yellow bases. Females are 31 centimeters in length and similar to males but have no ornamental plumes and have dark brown head and breast mask, and dark to mid brown underparts.

Emperor birds-of-paradise are polygynous. The breeding season is from at least September to December. Lekking males display at the same display perches on a primary tree and can embrace several adjacent trees. Males converge on each other and then engage in static displays in which they hop along branches, erect their flank feathers and hang upside-down, expanding flank plumes to form white disk while twisting side to side. Females build and attend nests alone and there has been recorded hybridising with Lesser and Raggiana.

Goldie's Birds-of-Paradise

Goldie's birds-of-paradise (Paradisaea decora) are endemic to Papua New Guinea, residing in the hill forests of Fergusson and Normanby Island of the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago in the eastern Papuan Islands. Their diet consists mainly of fruits. The name commemorates the Scottish collector Andrew Goldie, who discovered them in 1882. [Source: Wikipedia]

Goldie's birds-of-paradise are about 33 centimeters long, and olive-brown. Males have yellow and dark green plumage with a lavender grey breast, yellow irises and grey colored bill, mouth and feet. They are adorned with large crimson ornamental flank plumes and two long tail wires. They are is distinguished from other Paradisaea species by their lavender grey breast plumage. Female are unadorned and have olive-brown plumage with cinnamon-brown underparts.

Goldie's bird-of-paradise is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild) they are in Appendix II, which lists species not necessarily threatened with extinction now but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. They are threatened by ongoing habitat loss, limited range and overhunting in some places.

Blue Birds-of-Paradise

Blue birds-of-paradise (Paradisaea rudolphi) are regarded by some ornithologists as the most beautiful of all birds. Discovered by Carl Hunstein in 1884 and given a scientific name that honors the the ill-fated Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, these birds are endemic to Papua New Guinea, residing in the mountain forests of southeastern New Guinea. The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) recognizes only one subspecies, but additional subspecies — P. r. margaritae and P. r. ampla — have been described. [Source: Wikipedia]

Blue birds-of-paradise are about 30 centimeters long, excluding tail feathers, and are black with a bluish-white bill, dark brown irises, grey legs, broken white eye-rings and bright blue wings. Males have violet blue and cinnamon flank plumes and two long ribbon-like tail feathers. Females have chestnut brown undersides

Blue birds-of-paradise are rare. They are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and placed in CITES Appendix II. They are threatened by ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size and, in some areas, by hunting for their highly prized plumes.

Male blue birds-of-paradise are polygamous. Unlike all other birds-of-paradise species, who do their displays in lekking groups, they perform their displays alone with attending female nearby. During their awesome courtship displays, males hangs from a branch upside down. The black oval with red margin at the centre of their chest is rhythmically enlarged and contracted. Their violet blue plumes spread out in a fan, swaying the body back and forth while the central tail feathers form two impressive arches down to either side. Throughout their performances males softly make low but harsh vibrating sounds. Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last updated February 2025