The parotias are a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

, ''Parotia'', of passerine birds in the

bird-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of thi ...

family Paradisaeidae. They are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

. They are also known as six-plumed birds of paradise, due to their six head quills. These birds were featured prominently in the BBC series ''

Planet Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...

''. The males of the genus are characterized by an ornamental plumage consisting of six wired head plumes with black

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

-shaped tips, a neck collar of black, decomposed feathers which can be spread into a

skirt A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards. At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are fi ...

-like shape, and bright or iridescent head and throat markings. During courtship, they perform

ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

-like dances and spread out their "skirt" on a patch of forest floor they have meticulously cleaned of dead leaves and other debris. The "ballerina dances" usually consist of the male hopping from foot and bobbing their heads from side to side. The males are

polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

and do not take part in raising the young.

Clutch size __NOTOC__ A clutch of egg (biology), eggs is the group of eggs produced by birds, amphibians, or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest. In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators (or removal by humans, for exam ...

is somewhat uncertain; it is usually one to three eggs.

Taxonomy

The genus name is composed of ''par'', meaning "near" and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

''ōtos'' for "

ear An ear is the organ that enables hearing and, in mammals, body balance using the vestibular system. In mammals, the ear is usually described as having three parts—the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear consists of ...

", specifically meaning "curl of hair by the ear", referring to six head plumes on each side of the head, characteristic to male birds of this genus.

Species

Western parotia The western or Arfak parotia (''Parotia sefilata'') is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm long, bird-of-paradise with a medium-length tail. Parotia comes from the Greek ''parotis'', a lock or curl of hair by the ear, alluding to the head wi ...

, ''Parotia sefilata'' *

Carola's parotia Carola's parotia (''Parotia carolae''), also known as Queen Carola's six-wired bird-of-paradise or Queen Carola's parotia, is a species of bird-of-paradise. One of the most colourful parotias, the Queen Carola's parotia inhabits the mid-mountain ...

, ''Parotia carolae'' *

Bronze parotia The bronze parotia (''Parotia berlepschi''), also known as the Foja parotia, Berlepsch's parotia or Berlepsch's six-wired bird-of-paradise, is a species of bird-of-paradise, in the family Bird-of-paradise, Paradisaeidae. It resembles and is often ...

, ''Parotia berlepschi'' *

Lawes's parotia Lawes's parotia (''Parotia lawesii''), is a medium-sized (up to 27 cm long) passerine of the bird-of-paradise family, Paradisaeidae. It is distributed and endemic to mountain forests of southeast and eastern Papua New Guinea. Occasionally, th ...

, ''Parotia lawesii'' *

Eastern parotia The eastern parotia (''Parotia helenae''), also known as Helena's parotia, is a medium-sized passerine of the bird-of-paradise family, Paradisaeidae, endemic to mountain forests of the Bird's Tail Peninsula (Papua New Guinea). It is approximatel ...

, ''Parotia helenae'' *

Wahnes's parotia Wahnes's parotia (''Parotia wahnesi'') is a medium-sized passerine of the bird-of-paradise family (Paradisaeidae). This species is distributed and endemic to the mountain forests of Huon Peninsula and Adelbert Mountains, northeast Papua New Guine ...

, ''Parotia wahnesi''

References

* Mackay, Margaret D. (1990)
The Egg of Wahnes' Parotia ''Parotia wahnesi'' (Paradisaeidae)
''

Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus ''Dromaius''. The emu' ...

'' 90(4): 269. * Scholes III, Edwin (2008)
Evolution of the courtship phenotype in the bird of paradise genus Parotia (Aves: Paradisaeidae): homology, phylogeny, and modularity
''

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a direct descendant of the oldest biological journal in the world, the ''Transactions of the Linnean Society''. It succeeded the earlier title in 1969. The journal specializes in evolution, and ...

'' 94: 491–504. Bird genera Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot {{Paradisaeidae-stub