I have always been intrigued by the behaviors of birds, the way they communicate, the way that they can survive in the wilderness despite being so small and seemingly vulnerable, and also, the way that they attract birds of the opposite sex. From the courtship behavior of the Birds of Paradise, there is definitely more to these birds than people’s view of them having “bird brains”.
What I found interesting of the Birds of Paradise was the way that the male birds dance to court other females. When male Birds of Paradise want to attract the attention of other female, they will do the courtship dance. They will plume up their feathers for the dance, to give them a magnificent coat to attract audiences.
However, before they dance, these males have to clear away part of the forest floor to find a display ground. As will be seen from the video, the Bird of Paradise will flick the leaves and twigs away continuously till it is satisfied with the clean and immaculate clearing. In fact, it continued to do so even though there were no more leaves on the ground! This shows that they are very particular about their “stage”. This is to prevent itself from tripping over and falling, so that it’s “courtship dance” will not turn out to be a dance that will turn away its admirers.
Yes, believe your eyes! That is a Bird of Paradise that you are seeing above. Try spotting its head and body, which was what I tried to do when I first saw this. It actually shows a Bird of Paradise pluming up its feathers, probably in the midst of its courtship dance.
“The adult males have plumes, frills, capes, quills, lacy feathers, and skirts, with tails that may look like expandable fans, whips, twisted wires, and more, depending on the species.”
(please click here for the video on the courtship dance of the Bird of Paradise).
Once on the stage, the male bird first hopped around the stage, before it starts to do its dance. Amazingly, it has all sorts of colourful ornaments on it that can help to show off its dance moves, so as to beat its rivals. As it plumes up its black coat, the white layer of feathers on its chest will be fluffed up, giving it a more colourful look. The white disc on its head will also stand out. Furthermore, it will open up its head fan, being in its most beautiful moment. As it struts around, more and more female audiences started to gather. The male Bird of Paradise will finally stop after it chooses one to mate with.
Just like before any performance, the Bird of Paradise will also need practices before it dances in front of its intended audience! As seen in the video, one of the juvenile birds was practicing on the stage that was cleared previously by his “elder”. But sadly, his dance was not able to attract any females. This was until the adult “master” came back, showing him what a good dance should be like. The latter’s elaborate dance moves and poses are up to standard, able to attract a number of coy females to watch. For the male Birds of Paradise, this display of their courtship dance may last up to several hours, often taking up a significant time in their lifestyles.
Indeed, the courtship display of the Bird of Paradise is one that needs to undergo practice and planning before it can take place. Using their beautiful feathers and ornaments, the males will fluff up their feathers and dance around to attract other female birds. In order to outdo their rivals, each male will show off its best dance and beautiful feathers to earn more admirers amongst the females, getting a chance to mate with them. In the view of such immaculate behaviors, who still dares to think of “bird brain” as having a negative connotation?
References:
“Attenborough- Plumed Bird of Paradise”, 9th Feb 2007, http://youtube.com/watch?v=cEh-zclVo44
“Birds: Birds of Paradise”, Zoological Society of San Diego, 2008, http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-bird_of_paradise.html
“Bird of Paradise”, National Geographic Society, 2008, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/bird-of-paradise.html
“Feathers of Seduction”, Jennifer S. Holland, July 2007, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0707/feature3/index.html