What is this bird that looks like a child’s drawing come to life? It’s called a Wilson’s bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus respublica), and it can only be found in the hill and lowland rainforests of a couple of Indonesian islands. The video above shows a male of the species; females are drab and brown. (They may lack the pretty colors, but the girls’ camouflage is probably a better outfit in the long run.)
There are 39 species of birds-of-paradise, including this one, and they are noted for their spectacular coloring, weird feathers and elaborate mating dances (the males are the show-offs, both in feathers and dance).
The video is part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Bird-of-Paradise Project. Ed Scholes and wildlife photojournalist Tim Laman have photographed all 39 species of birds-of-paradise, a feat that took them eight years. Now they’re going back to New Guinea, where most of the birds can be found, to film the males from the females point of view. It’s something that’s leading to interesting insights, such as that the ballerina bird‘s name doesn’t really fit. When the female looks on the male doing this particular dance, he no longer looks like a bird wearing a tutu but a big black blob with occasional flashes of color.