The Wilson’ Bird of Paradise

The Wilson’ bird of paradise (cicinnurus respublica) is a species of passerine bird belongs to Paradisaeidae family, lives on the hill and lowland rainforests of Waigeo and Batanta islands in West Papua Indonesia, where it reported to be frequent in suitable habitat. The exotic bird has the unique outlook with striking scarlet, yellow, green and blue plumage, specially, the turquoise dome of Wilson' bird of paradise is hairless. It's just bare skin and two long curved tail feathers also play a vital role in helping the males attract partners. The male bird looks more colorful as compare to females, which has light brown plumage with dark blue dome. The male bird entice to female by clean the leaves or debris to make their own stages in forest. Wilson's bird-of-paradise is small, up to 21 cm long, can reach 6.3 inches in length and 1.8 to 2.2 ounces of weight. The blue bare skin on the crown of the bird's head is so vivid that it is clearly visible by night; the deep scarlet back and velvet green breast are lush, the curlicue tail gleaming bright silver. The bird mating season of Wilson's bird of paradise takes place two times per year: from May to June and in October.

The bird habitually passing from branch to branch on the flat ground by bending their body in different postures, spreading the colorful iridescent plumage and chirping. The male bird shake head lean neck or turn up tail and open their mouths in front of female to entice their partner.  The bird is discovered in 1850 when its courtship dance was recorded by the famous naturalist David Attenborough in the wild. The Wilson's bird-of-paradise diet is consists mainly of fruits, small insects and arthropods. The name "Wilson's bird of paradise" is coined by Napoleon's nephew who described unidentified bird that was purchased by British naturalist Edward Wilson.

Moreover, this is a poorly known species and no population estimates are available. Due to continue habitat loss, this species occurs within a very small range, and is likely to have a moderately small population, the bird is evaluated as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The rate of decline is not thought to be more rapid as this species apparently persists in selectively logged forest. Hunting for skins may also contribute to the decline. The BBC cameraman David Attenborough first time filmed his unusual behavior in 1996 by dropping leaves on the forest floor, which irritated the bird into clearing them away. With the impressive colorful plumage, Wilson's bird of paradise is considered the world's most beautiful bird. Source: Charismatic Planet

The Marvellous Spatuletail

The nature’s most beautiful bird is The Marvellous Spatuletail “Loddigesia Mirabilis” is just a 15cm long bird. The medium size hummingbird adorned with different colors, white green and bronze with blue crest feathers, and a brilliant turquoise gorget and black line on its white underparts. The bird is sexually dimorphic and only member of the monotypic genus Loddigesia. This bird can be found at the forest edges of Rio Utcubamba region in Peru. This Peruvian endemic bird was first discovered in 1835 by the bird collector Andrew Matthews for George Loddiges, after whom the genus is named. The bird is extremely unique in just having four feathers in its tail. However, male bird is having two long racquet-shaped outer tail feathers that cross each other and end in large violet-blue discs or “spatules”. The breeding season starts from late October to early May, which coincides with rainy season. 

The marvellous spatuletail is unique among birds in having just four feathers in its tail. Its most remarkable feature is the male's two long racquet-shaped outer tail feathers that cross each other and end in large violet-blue discs or "spatules". The marvellous spatuletail bird can move them independently. The population of Marvellous Spatuletail in limited numbers and it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.  The population is estimated to fall between 300 to 1000 mature individuals and equivalent to 375-1,499 individuals in total, rounded here to 350-1,500 individuals. Another threat to this species is hunting by locals, who believe that the male marvellous spatuletail’s heart is an aphrodisiac and this may account for the skewed sex ratio in this species, as adult males are habitually killed with slingshots and so are greatly outnumbered by females and immature males. 

The bird call has been described as a thin, sweet, rising ‘wsst’, however displaying to the female the male marvellous spatuletail produces a snapping sound. The Marvellous Spatuletail has been featured in the PBS TV series Nature and the BBC TV. The BBC camera team was also the first to record the male marvellous spatuletail hummingbird displaying to a female, and his whole mating display from start to finish. The male marvellous spatuletail displays to a female by hovering in front of her, waving his tail feathers. Therefore, the courtship display of the male Marvellous Spatuletail is so energetically demanding that it can only be performed for very short periods. The Marvellous Spatuletail feeds consist on nectar, red-flowered lily, Bomarea formosissima. This is a solitary bird for most of the year, and moves around continually throughout the day, flying through dense thickets faster and with greater maneuverability than other hummingbirds.

Therefore, in 2006 American Bird Conservancy provided support to protect and manage 100 acres of significant habitat for jewel of this bird. They’ve planed more than 30,000 saplings of native trees and bushes to increase the bird’s numbers, which is best of its in Peru. The Marvellous Spatuletail hummingbird is among the rarest and striking of birds and uncommon due to its extreme mating behavior. The bird body size is slightly fluffy ping-pong ball, and beak in the size of matchstick. Source: Charismatic Planet

Baglafecht Weaver (Ploceus baglafecht) in Ethiopia by Paul van Giersbergen.

Ashy Prinia (Prinia socialis) courtship dance, in Rajasthan India by Ains Priesty.

Amur Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone incei) family in Malaysia by Lawrence Neo.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) in New-Mexico, USA by James Ownby.

Amazing close-up of Purple-bibbed Whitetip (Urosticte benjamini) in Ecuador by Larry Gridley.

Allen's Hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) in California, USA by Chai Dai.

African Golden Weaver (Ploceus subaureus) in Tanzania by Paul van Giersbergen.

African Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus) in Uganda by Tadeusz Rosinski.

African Emerald Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx cupreus) by Hugh Chittenden.

A Royal Sunangel Hummingbird (Heliangelus regalis)

A pair of Red-backed Fairywren (Malurus melanocephalus) in Australia by Graeme Toft

Blue-Footed Booby

Blue-footed boobies take great pride due to their marvelous feet. During mating rituals, male birds normally show off their feet to prospective mates with a high stepping strut. The blue-footed booby (Sula nebouxii) is a marine bird in the family Sulidae, which includes ten species of long-winged seabirds. Therefore the bluer the feet, the mate considered more attractive.  The booby species are thought to take their name from the Spanish word (bobo), means “stupid, clown, and Fool”.  Because the blue-footed booby is clumsy on land regarded as foolish for their apparent fearlessness of humans. Blue feet also indicate the current health condition of a booby, thus, the feet are rapid and honest indicators of a booby's current level of nourishment. The blue feet are signs that reliably point toward the immunological and health condition of a booby, coloration is favored through sexual selection.

These impressively beautiful feet birds live off the western coasts of central and South America.  The Galápagos Islands population includes about half of all breeding pairs of blue-footed boobies. The female bird is somewhat larger than the male and can measure up to 90 cm long with a wingspan of up to 1.5 m. Similar to other boobies the blue-foot nest on land at night. The boobies are flew in search of seafood, may fly far out to sea keeping an eye for schools of small fish in cooperative groups such as sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and flying fish.  These seabirds are exceptional divers, fold their long wings back around their streamlined bodies and plunge into the water from as high as 24 meters and swimming underwater in search of its prey. Even, they can also dive from a sitting position on the water’s surface. These birds hit the water around 97 km/h and have ability to go to depths of 25 meters below the water surface.

Both sexes start breeding between 1 to 6 years. The blue-footed booby usually lays 1-3 eggs at a time, and they’re very caring to their chicks, use their webbed feet to cover and keep them warm. Both male and female take turns incubating the eggs, and the incubation period is falling between 41–45 days. Both male and female birds share parental responsibilities. The male will provide food for the young and chicks feed off the regurgitated fish in the adult's mouth. The boobies’ natural breeding habitats are tropical and subtropical islands of Pacific Ocean. The blue-footed booby wings are brown color, neck and head are light brown with white streaks, belly and underside full white plumage. The boobies’ are having distinctive yellow color eyes with excellent binocular vision.

 The blue-footed booby's hunts singly, in pairs, or in larger flocks. Blue-footed boobies make raucous or polysyllabic grunts or shout and thin whistling noises and their ritual displays are also a form of communication, hence mates can identify each other by their calls. The blue-footed booby population appears to having trouble breeding and thus is slowly declining. The decline is feared to be long-term, but annual data collection is needed for a firm conclusion that this is not a normal fluctuation. Food problems may be the cause of an observed failure of the birds to even try to breed.

The Golden-Breasted Starling

The golden-breasted starling has been called the most beautiful starling in the world.  The golden-breasted starling (Lamprotornis regius) is a medium-sized, up to 35 cm long, passerine in the starling family. The Golden Breasted Starling is also known as royal starling and a social animal, living in groups of 3 to 12 individuals. The bird diet comprises mostly of insects and termites and some fruit of Commiphora and Dobera, though adult birds catch insects in flight and dig up termite mounds to find prey. They spend most of their time on the ground, running or hopping in their hunt for insects. To catch termites, they use rapid flicks of the bill to dig down to their tunnels. When disturbed, they will fly to the next bush. They infrequently fly above three metres.

The golden-breasted starling molts once a year, after the breeding season. The female usually lays between 3 to 5 pale green color eggs with red speckles.  The birds habitually make nests in tree holes which are made from leaves, roots, straw and other vegetation. Moreover the whole family groups cooperate in raising young by gathering food and nesting materials. The bird likes the rainy season for breeding, i.e. March to May and November to December. Therefore, during the hotter daylight hours, golden-breasted starlings will chatter away in a subdued voice with their mates. Their flight or contact call is cheeo cheeo. When signaling danger, they use chiar chiar.

The stunning golden-breasted starling is widely distributed in the grassland, savannah and shrub-land of East Africa, from Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and northern Tanzania. Furthermore, this species and L. unicolor sometimes placed in a separate genus, appears inseparable from birds in rest of species' range. Moreover, just like all starling species, golden-breasted starlings are highly social birds, noisy and garrulous when together. They gather in pairs or groups of up to a dozen. Though, during breeding season, group members assist with nest building and feeding. 

The both sexes are similar; however the young are duller than the adult. The adult bird has a metallic green head and upper back, bright golden yellow breast and belly, dark bill and legs, white iris and metallic violet blue on wings, back, neck and its long tail feathers. The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is described as locally common. The population trend appears to be stable, and it is widespread throughout its habitat range; hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion. The bird is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Unluckily due to its stunning colorations makes it easy for the wild bird trade to create a market for it. So, “Cosmopsarus regius” populations have come under pressure in some areas due to large-scale capturing. 

The bird tail is 60% of bird length would usually be its main feature, however starling coloration and vivid golden yellow covers the rest of the underparts including the thighs and under-tail coverts. Legs are black. This species is also known as the superb starling. Source: Charismatic Planet