What Are These Birds of Paradise Doing?

A few days ago while I was aimlessly channel surfing in an attempt to ease my boredom, I stumbled across a show on the discovery channel call "Planet Earth." I was quickly captivated by the unique plumage I noticed in a few species of the featured animal, the birds of paradise. These birds appeared to be dancing around and puffing up their bright feathers. I wasn't sure if they were doing this to ward off potential predators or males of the same species encroaching on their territory. Upon review of James Dinsmore's article: "Courtship Behavior of the Greater Bird of Paradise," I realized that it was neither.

I learned that this grand display of dancing and showing off their bright feathers is in an effort to attract a female for mating purposes. Females are attracted to male birds which have the brightest feathers in order to ensure that their offspring will be very healthy and well suited for their environment. The display grounds where the male birds of paradise entertain the females are referred to as "leks" and are often kept very tidy by the males, in an effort to impress the females. The species is sexually dimorphic, which means that only the males have brightly colored feathers. This way the females can easily recognize their mating partners and choose the best one. The birds are found mainly in Indonesia, Papa New Guinea, and Australia. The males are most often polygynous, which means that they will not hesitate to mate with more than one partner.

I originally thought that this courtship behavior was aggressive behavior because the bird seemed to be scaring off an enemy. However, upon further analysis it is apparent that these birds are indeed trying to seduce their female counterparts. Male birds of paradise prepare their leks and groom their plumage as soon as the mating season begins, and the next step is to wait for a female to arrive, which can take anywhere from 1 day to 2 months. These birds display an absurd amount of patience as they wait calmly for females to arrive. This courting behavior is also seen in many other species of birds across the world, it is not unique to the birds of paradise. Some species which have highly specialized lek rituals include the sage grouse, black grouse, and prairie chicken. They can also be seen dancing and chanting if it is the appropriate time of the mating season. These courting rituals are advantageous to the females because they are able to pick and choose which male they mate with, rather than settling for the first one that comes along. Choosing a male in good health and fitness will most likely produce offspring that are healthy and strong.

reference: http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v087n02/p0305-p0321.pdf

posted by: Dan O'Halloran (3)