Wilson's bird-of-paradise (''Diphyllodes respublica'') is a species of
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird of the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Paradisaeidae
The birds-of-paradise are members of the Family (biology), family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. T ...
.
The first footage of the Wilson's bird-of-paradise ever to be filmed was recorded in 1996 by
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...
for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
documentary ''
Attenborough in Paradise
''Attenborough in Paradise'' is a BBC television documentary written and presented by David Attenborough. It was first transmitted in 1996 and is part of the ''Attenborough in Paradise and Other Personal Voyages'' collection of seven documentaries ...
''. He did so by dropping leaves on the forest floor, which irritated the bird into clearing them away.
Nomenclature
The controversial scientific name ''respublica'' of this species was given by
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist, and a nephew of Napoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal ...
,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's nephew and a
republican idealist. The habit of zoologists at that time to dedicate newly discovered species to some king, queen, or aristocrat deeply irritated him. In order to assert his convictions, he chose to name this species ''respublica'' to honour the republic and not the royalty.
Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Charles Lucien Jules Laurent Bonaparte, 2nd Prince of Canino and Musignano (24 May 1803 – 29 July 1857) was a French naturalist and ornithology, ornithologist, and a nephew of Napoleon. Lucien and his wife had twelve children, including Cardinal ...
described the bird from a badly damaged trade specimen purchased by British ornithologist
Edward Wilson. In doing so, he beat
John Cassin
John Cassin (September 6, 1813 – January 10, 1869) was an American ornithology, ornithologist from Pennsylvania. He worked as curator and vice president at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and focused on the systemic classification ...
, who wanted to name the bird in honour of Wilson, by several months. Thirteen years later, in 1863, the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
zoologist
Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...
Heinrich Agathon Bernstein discovered the home grounds of the Wilson's bird-of-paradise on
Waigeo
Waigeo is an island in the Southwest Papua province of eastern Indonesia. The island is also known as Amberi or Waigiu. It is the largest of the four main islands in the Raja Ampat Islands archipelago, between Halmahera and about to the nort ...
Island.
Distribution
An
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
, the Wilson's bird-of-paradise is distributed to the hill and lowland rainforests of
Waigeo
Waigeo is an island in the Southwest Papua province of eastern Indonesia. The island is also known as Amberi or Waigiu. It is the largest of the four main islands in the Raja Ampat Islands archipelago, between Halmahera and about to the nort ...
and
Batanta
Batanta is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Its area is 479.52 km2 (including smaller offshore islands) and its highest point is 1184 m. The Pitt Strait (Indonesia), Pitt Strai ...
Islands off
West Papua.
Due to ongoing
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
, limited range, and exploitation, the Wilson's bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Near Threatened on the
IUCN Red List
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...
of Threatened Species. It is listed in Appendix II of the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Habitat
Its preferred habitat is the hill forest at 300 m of altitude, more rarely the lowland rainforest and the middle mountain forest.
[
]
Description
Wilson's bird-of-paradise is rather small. Males can reach a length of (21 cm including central rectrices) and a weight of 53–67 g., while females can reach a length of 16 cm, but a weight of 52–60 g.[Frith, C. & Frith, D. (2017)]
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus respublica)
Handbook of the Birds of the World. The male is a red and black bird-of-paradise
The birds-of-paradise are members of the Family (biology), family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 45 species in 17 genera. T ...
, with a yellow mantle on its neck, light green mouth, rich blue feet, and two curved violet tail feathers. The head is naked blue, with a black double cross
A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
pattern on it. The female is a brownish bird with a bare blue crown.
In the field, 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.
Diet
Their diet consists of fruits, insects, arthropods, and other small invertebrates.
Rituals of seduction
Males of these birds clear an area of rainforest to create a 'display court'. Then they perform an elaborate mating dance to impress a potential mate. The male usually exhibits an attractive breast shield and accompanies the mating dance with song and calls.
Courtship behavior
Male Wilson’s birds-of-paradise
are the most colorful of all the species within the family, possessing a veritable rainbow of color. This remarkable example of hue and iridescence possesses all of the primary colors (and more) in different ways. The baby blue hue of its head is skin, not feathers, and is the result of structural color absent in any other member of birds-of-paradise. Yellow on the nape of its neck, followed by the crimson on its back are consistent, pigmented colors, present year-round. Its quirky, "handlebar-mustache-shaped" tail feathers are brilliantly iridescent, reflecting light to produce intense color to the eye of the beholder.
The sexual dimorphism of the species leaves the female very drab in comparison. Sexual dimorphism, or the difference in physical appearance between the sexes, is the result of female selection, in which females select males based upon indirect genetic benefits which increase offspring fitness. Because this species is polygynous, where one male mates with multiple females, the female is left on her own to raise young, forcing her to assess these indirect genetic benefits through courtship rituals, details of which are in the following section.
Dance
While these birds are difficult to locate in the wild and have not been studied in-depth, footage of the few mating rituals that have been witnessed for this species tells all. This species territorially defends a "court" in which it performs its vocalizations and physical maneuvers. Males will continually work to keep this area free of debris, making sure that nothing on the ground will distract from their displays. Males will perch on a vertical branch in the middle of their court, flexing their brilliant green fluorescent collar and calling out to females to attract them to their site. Females who are interested will perch above the male on the branch and watch as he weaves back and forth, calling to her and flexing the fluorescent collar
As was recently discovered
when researchers filmed the dance from the female's perspective, as the male displays, he is basically a brilliant green disc, and the inside of his mouth is fluorescent, making him an astonishing beacon of brilliant color. This phenomenal display of color demonstrates the power of female sexual selection over male appearance and behavior in the animal kingdom.
Gallery
File:Wilson's bird-of-paradise on Pulau Batanta, Raja Ampat.jpg, Wilson's bird-of-paradise at Pulau Batanta Raja Ampat, 2015
File:Wilson's bird-of-paradise on Waigeo, Raja Ampat.jpg, Wilson's bird-of-paradise at Waigeo Raja Ampat, 2015
File:Wilson's Bird of Paradise.jpg, Wilson's bird-of-paradise looking around, 2009
File: Diphyllodes respublica.jpg, Illustration of male and female by Daniel Giraud Elliot, 1873
File:Naturalis Biodiversity Center - ZMA.AVES.8858 - Diphyllodes respublica Bonaparte, 1850 - Paradisaeidae - skin specimen.jpeg, ''Diphyllodes respublica Bonaparte'', 1850. Male skin specimen caught before 1925, Waigeo Island (Pulau Waigeo), Irian Jaya
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Austral ...
, Naturalis
File: Paradisaeidae - Cicinnurus respublica.JPG, Museum specimen. Batanta
Batanta is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua province, Indonesia. Its area is 479.52 km2 (including smaller offshore islands) and its highest point is 1184 m. The Pitt Strait (Indonesia), Pitt Strai ...
, coll. 1875.07.25 Odoardo Beccari
Odoardo Beccari (16 November 1843 – 25 October 1920) was an Italian botanist famous for his discoveries in Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia. He has been called the greatest botanist to ever study Malesia.
Life
Youth and education (18 ...
File: Naturalis Biodiversity Center - RMNH.AVES.141017 1 - Diphyllodes respublica (Bonaparte, 1850) - Paradisaeidae - bird skin specimen.jpeg, Female specimen, Batanta, 1865, Naturalis
Bibliography
* Beehler, B.M., T.K. Pratt & D.A.Zimmerman 1986. Birds of New Guinea. Princeton University Press. .
* Frith, C. B. & Frith, D. W. (2009). Family Paradisaeidae (Birds of Paradise). In del Hoyo, J. Elliott, A. & Christie, D. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Vol. 14. pp. 404–459. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
* Morten Strange. A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Indonesia. — Princeton University Press, 2003. — С. 382. — 416 с. — .
* Ottaviani, M. (2012). Les Oiseaux de Paradis – Histoire Naturelle et photographies, 320 pages. Editions Prin, France.
References
External links
*
BBC Video Segment – Wilson's Bird of Paradise
Wilson's Bird of Paradise Image
a
PBase
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{{Taxonbar, from1=Q795569, from2=Q27075339
Diphyllodes
Birds of the Raja Ampat Islands
Endemic birds of Indonesia
Birds described in 1850
Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte
Endemic fauna of New Guinea