2013 Bonanza Bird #19: King Bird-of-paradise

July 19, 2013 in Birdorable Bonanza 2013 and Birds-of-Paradise with 5 comments

We're adding one new bird each day until we reach our 500th Birdorable species on the last day of July. Today's Bonanza bird is the King Bird-of-paradise.

The King Bird-of-paradise is the smallest of the bird-of-paradise family. It lives in Papau New Guinea and on outlying islands. Males are stunning with red body plumage, a white chest, blue feet, and long green-tipped tail feathers that extend nearly five inches from end to end. All male birds-of-paradise have remarkable colorful plumage and special feathers that they use in dances or other rituals in order to attract females. This short video shows a male King Bird-of-paradise performing part of its dance.

King Bird-of-Paradise video copyright Cornell Lab of Ornithology

If you'd like to see more King Bird-of-paradise action, check out this video from the Smithsonian: Dancers on Fire: King Bird-of-Paradise. It includes a female King Bird-of-paradise, so you can clearly see that the species is sexually dimorphic (males and females have different plumage).

Tomorrow's new Bonanza bird makes a sound like another animal, and that's how it got its name. bonanza-2013-preview-20

Comments

Dominic Morrell on July 19, 2013 at 11:40 AM wrote:

Grey Catbird?

nuthatches are awesome on July 19, 2013 at 9:14 PM wrote:

Gray Catbird

Louise Warner on February 23, 2017 at 4:21 PM wrote:

grey catbird

Spurwing Plover on May 22, 2022 at 5:27 PM wrote:

Riflebird

Spurwing Plover on June 4, 2022 at 7:08 AM wrote:

Dose his Dance upside down

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.

Your name (required)

Your email address (required)

Your email address will not be published

Comment (required)

I agree to receive updates and news from Birdorable

You can unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more information on how to unsubscribe, our privacy practices, and how we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy, please review our Privacy Policy. By clicking submit below, you consent to allow Birdorable to store and process the personal information submitted above to provide you the content requested.

Truth or Tale? The Egyptian Plover and the Myth of the Crocodile Bird

February 1, 2013

The Egyptian Plover is a beautiful species of wader that lives in parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the common name, their present range does not extend to any part of Egypt. The bird is sometimes known by another name: Crocodile Bird. During his travels to Egypt in 459...

Vulture Week: Palm-nut Vulture species profile

September 7, 2014

We're celebrating Vulture Week because this Saturday, September 6th, marked International Vulture Awareness Day (IVAD). This commemorative day has been celebrated since at least 2009 and aims to highlight the importance of vultures and vulture conservation through education. Palm-nut Vultures are unusual...

2017 Bonanza Bird #9: Horned Puffin

December 2, 2017

Today a seabird with bold colors joins Birdorable: the Horned Puffin! The Horned Puffin is a seabird in the auk family. They are pelagic, breeding on rocky islands but spending the rest of the year at sea. They are found in ocean waters around...

2016 Bonanza Bird #2: Greater Bird-of-Paradise

November 26, 2016

It's the second day of our 2016 Bonanza, where we're introducing a new Birdorable bird each day through December 4th. Today's new bird is the Greater Bird-of-paradise, a large species found in parts of New Guinea. There are 42 species in...

Birdorable Blog