There are forty-two known species of birds of paradise, of which thirty-eight are found in New Guinea, two in Australia, and two in Maluku in eastern Indonesia. The climate in New Guinea is generally wet, though it is possible to distinguish between a ‘dry season’ from May to November, and a ‘wet season’ from October to April. Most of the native birds, including the birds of paradise, reach a peak of plumage display during the dry season and the beginning of the wet season, which marks the height of the nesting period. G.E. Rumphius, the Belgian naturalist in the employ of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the seventeenth century, was the first to document six species of the bird. Though the original manuscript is lost, his observations are repeated in François Valentijn’s monumental study, Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indiën, published in 1724.
Among the six species mentioned are the Lesser Bird of Paradise, which were the birds brought back to Europe by Magellan’s crew, and the Greater Bird of Paradise (which Linnaeus named the ‘Feetless Bird of Paradise’, to mock prevalent European views). The former species is found near the coast in the Bird’s Head Peninsula of West Papua Province and in the Jayapura region of Papua Province in Indonesia, while the latter is located in southwest Papua New Guinea as well as in the Trans Fly region which straddles both countries. While in Aru, Alfred Russel Wallace witnessed the mating dance of the Greater Bird of Paradise, although its habitat is in New Guinea.
Some of these birds fly to the nearby Aru Islands during the mating season, though such a journey can be treacherous because of the peculiar nature of their feathers. He noted that in September and October the silky feathers of the birds were in full perfection. It was then that they began their special mating dance on very large trees with extensive canopies but scattered foliage, allowing a space for the birds to strut in the sun to display their splendid feathers. In one tree he saw assembled between a dozen and twenty male birds in full plumage, raising their wings and stretching their necks all the while maintaining a continuous vibration which contributed to the brilliance of the display of the plumes. Flying from branch to branch, the birds presented a spectacle of colourful feathers in constant motion in all manner of poses.
Wallace writes:
The bird itself is nearly as large as a crow, and is of a rich coffee brown colour. The head and neck is of a purest yellow above, and rich metallic green beneath. The long plumy tufts of golden orange feathers spring from the sides beneath each wing, and when the bird is in repose are partly concealed by them. At the time of its excitement, however, the wings are raised vertically over the back, the head is bent down and stretched out, and the long plumes are raised up and expanded till they form two magnificent golden fans, striped with deep red at the base, and fading off into the pale brown tint of the finely divided and softly waving points.
The whole bird is then overshadowed by them, the crouching body, yellow head, and emerald green throat forming but the foundation and setting to the golden glory which waves above. When seen in this attitude, the Bird of Paradise really deserves its name, and must be ranked as one of the most beautiful and most wonderful of living things. Among the Papuans of New Guinea and neighbouring islands, the species that is most prized is the Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana; cenderawasih in Indonesian), which appears in the national crest and the flag of Papua New Guinea.
They are found in southern and northeastern Papua New Guinea, and their feathers adorn the headdress of many Papuan dancers during special festivals. In Indonesia’s Papua Province, the cenderawasih’s popularity is reflected in the fact that its name has been given to a bay, a university, and to streets.