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.