Really Weird Birds: King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise

The King-of-Saxony bird-of-paradise is found in the rain forested mountains of New Guinea.  This species was first described and named in 1894.  It received its common name and scientific species name (alberti), to honor the then king of Saxony, Albert of Saxony. 

There are 41 species of birds-of-paradise, mostly found in New Guinea and its surrounding islands.  Males of the species exhibit some of the most unusual and beautiful feathers in the world.  The King-of-Saxony bird-of-paradise has feathers unlike any other.

Illustration from the wikipedia files

The bird’s body is about 8.5 inches long.  Males have a black head, back, wings, and tail, and a white and yellow front.  The most unusual part of the male is the two very long head plumes, or ornamental feathers sprouting from behind each eye.  These feather structures are more than twice the length of the bird’s body, almost 20 inches long!  In the right light, they look light blue on top and reddish-brown underneath.  The plumes have lost their normal feather structure.  There are 40 to 50 small flag-shaped structures positioned on one side of the shaft.  Males have evolved these through sexual selection; yep, girl attractants.  The bland looking brown females choose the male with the most impressive head plumes.

Male King-of-Saxony Bird-of-Paradise (photo: The wikipedia files)

King-of-Saxony birds are polygamous.  During courtship males perform their displays in one large area called a lek.  They are all attempting to impress the on-looking females.  The male’s display has two main parts.  First, he will try to attract females to his spot by “singing” a hissing rattle sound while perched up in the canopy.  He also moves and waves his head plumes and raises the feathers on his neck.  When a female approaches, he flies down to a vine in the under-story where he perches below the female.  He repeats his display and also bounces up and down on the vine.  Click here for a short video of a male King-of-Saxony bird courtship display.  When approaching the female for mating, the male wags his head back and forth while hopping up the vine towards her.  Afterwards, the female leaves and the male continues to attract other females.

Males take no part in the rearing of their offspring.  Females lay only one egg and care for the chick themselves.  This species mainly eats fruit, therefore helping with seed dispersal in their rainforest habitat.  They are not considered endangered or threatened.  They are only found in a small range, but are very common throughout that range.

Submitted by Sara Oliver, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist

Really Wierd Birds: Part 1

There is such a huge diversity of birds in the world.  Some of them are quite bizarre!  Some have weird feather characteristics, weird facial features, or other physical oddities and some have unusual coloring or strange behaviors.

One species that caught my interest was the Kea, an omnivorous parrot native only to the South Island of New Zealand. 

  Keas are found only on the South Island of New Zealand

This bird has been witnessed doing some interesting behaviors.  First of all, they win the award for bossiest bird.  These birds are very social and live in groups of up to 13.  A social hierarchy is present and dominant birds have been seen to force submissive individuals to cooperate in tasks that only benefit the dominant bird.  In addition to this behavior, these birds have been witnessed attacking sheep!  They rip through the wool with their sharp beaks and eat the high energy fat off of live sheep.  Check out this video. 

The Hoatzin, native to the swamps of the Amazon rainforest and Orinoco Delta of South America, has a blue featherless face, maroon eyes, and spike-like feathers sticking up on its head. 

  The Hoatzin - an odoriferous bird from South America

Not only does this bird look unusual, but they smell like manure and are nicknamed the “stinkbird.”  They have two spurs on their wings when they are chicks, which help them climb around on branches.  These birds are strict herbivores and the majority of their diet is made up of leaves, which are hard to digest.  They have a unique digestive system and can ferment the leaves they eat in a foregut like cows, sheep, and deer.  Regurgitated plant matter is fed to their chicks.  These birds use most of their energy digesting their food, so they rarely ever fly.

The Resplendent Quetzal is an absolutely gorgeous bird, native to Central America, which comes in a variety of striking colors.  The males of this species have extremely long tail feathers that reach up to 3 feet--longer than its entire body.

The beautiful Resplendent Quetzal--the national bird of Guatemala  

When taking flight, the males will dive backwards off of a tree branch so as not to rip his long tail feathers.  They nest in hollowed out trees and when a male enters, he backs into it then once inside curls his tail over his head and out the hole.

The Bird-of-paradise is a family of birds consisting of 40 species mostly found in New Guinea and surrounding islands.  They come in an array of beautiful colors, have unusual feather characteristics, and super strange and impressive courtship displays and rituals.  This link has some great photos.  Here is a hilarious video of a few courtship displays.   Some look like they should be from another planet!

As you can see, the diversity of birds is so vast!  Part of the World Bird Sanctuary’s mission is to maintain biological diversity on our earth so future generations can enjoy the same amazing animals.  Stay tuned next month for part 2 of Really Weird Birds!

Submitted by Sara Oliver, World Bird Sanctuary Naturalist