Finding and Seeing the Bird-Of-Paradise

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

The very name of this bird evokes the idea of beauty and relaxation; it is a bird that can be found only in a few places around the world, including Australia, New Guinea, and the Moluccas. Catching a glimpse of a Bird-of-Paradise is very akin to seeing a snipe in the American wilderness, but not because if their speed and size. It's because of their ingenious jungle-cameo.

This specie is very recognizable for us, considering its well-camouflaged plumage, simply because it's so beautiful. The neck is jungle green making it near impossible to see that in pictures, the head is an amazing shade of bright yellow, it imitates the sun rays. The body of the bird is a dark brown that fades into a dull yellow at the top of its back. The tail feathers are as white as the clouds in the summer sky, and are the giveaway feature for this magnificent bird.

Their brown, yellow and white coloring may seem strange for a bird, but the Bird-of-Paradise spends a large amount of its time in dense jungles. In these denser areas of jungle, thick canopies that have grown, block out large portions of the sun.

This beautiful bird has taken advantage of this fact and has done its best to hide in the trees. Refuge for this bird is among the brown branches, like its body, the green leaves, like its neck, and the yellow rays of intermittent sunlight that bursts through the canopy ceiling here and there.

There are 40 different species of the Bird-of-Paradise, most of which reside in New Guinea. The species inhabit warm and humid climates. Most often the bird will be found in jungles, rainforests, and the very prehistoric feeling moss forests, also called Cloud Forests due to the constant fog that plagues them.

After seeing a few pictures, and if you're lucky, one in person, you'd be surprised to know that one of the Birds-of-Paradise close relative is the crow. The two birds are roughly the same size, just colored for two very different environments.

Considering the long lineage of these birds, simply watching the majesty of this specie can give you a brief glimpse of what type of bird was flying around 20 million years ago. Finally tracking down this bird and seeing it experience its own life, as it has for millions of years, can be the most fulfilling experience in a lifetime for even the most seasoned birdwatchers.

If the Bird-of-Paradise sounds like your cup of tea, then head to New Guinea for your next vacation and you'll be immersed. As I said before, New Guinea has most of the species from this family of birds inside its own small borders. If you want to see some of the prettiest and rarest birds on the planet, then New Guinea is the only place to go.