Goldie’s Bird of Paradise

Common name

Goldie’s Bird of Paradise

Scientific name

Paradisaea decora

Etymology

Paradisaea (Latin, paradise); decora (Latin, beautiful); common name honours Andrew Goldie, Scottish collector and shop owner who first obtained this species.

Description

Sexually dimorphic. Adult males, 33 cm long (excluding tail wires); females, 29 cm. Adult male marked by dark orange-yellow head, nape and mantle, dark green chin and throat, mauve breast and striking deep crimson flank plumes. Adult female has yellowish crown, brownish-olive upperparts and cinnamon underparts with ventral barring.

Diet

Fruits and arthropods.

Habitat

Hill forests, forest edges and fallow upland gardens; 0-600m.

Courtship

Polygynous. Displays recorded first half of November. About 8-10 males attend lek, 2-3 in each tree, displaying on traditional perches, watched by no more than two females. Displays similar to those of Greater Bird of Paradise with hopping along perch, erecting of flank plumes, static postures and bowing.

Breeding

Breeding season and incubation, nestling and development periods unknown. Hybridisation unknown and unexpected.

Status and conservation

Near threatened; small range; poorly known.

Distribution

Papua New Guinea: D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago: Fergusson and Normanby Islands.