Mon, 12 May 2025 23:19:41 +0000

Wilson's bird-of-paradise is rather small. Males can reach a length of 16 cm (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. The male is a red and black bird-of-paradise, 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 pattern on it. The female is a brownish bird with 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.
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 the attractive breast shield and accompanies the mating dance with song and calls.
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.