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Lesser Bird-of-paradise

Paradisaea minor


Where is it found?

Picture
Tropical Forests

Diet and foraging method

Eats plants and meat
Forages in the tree canopy.
Eats fruit
Eats molluscs like snails
Eats insects

Key adaptations

Males have brightly coloured plumage for attracting females with elaborate courtship dances.
Robust pointed bill for accessing and eating fruit, insects and snails in the dense forest canopy.


Social organisation and mating system

Picture
Solitary
Males form groups and perform for females, the best males get the most mates.
Males aim to impress females in leks. Females then build nests high in the tree canopy where they incubate their eggs - up to 12 - on their own.

Did you know that...?

They may be one of the only toxic birds! Many believe that their skins contain toxins derived from their diet - insects and plants - that protect them against predators. As the birds are so colourful, the predator will remember an encounter with this toxic and bad tasting bird so are unlikely to target other birds that look the same.

Taxonomy

Picture

Sources

Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
Male lesser bird of paradise: "Lesser Bird of Paradise". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lesser_Bird_of_Paradise.jpg#/media/File:Lesser_Bird_of_Paradise.jpg
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