BIRDS OF PARADISE:
1 magnificent bird of paradise. The park’s first Raggiana bird of paradise
chick bred in captivity is a male named Bosh who hatched in 2021. The second chick is Otto (sex still unknown) hatched in November 2024. The 26 birds of paradise at the park represent only 20% of its total bird population, which numbers 131, with the most common birds being pigeons such as the impressive Victoria and southern crowned pigeons, followed by Papuan eclectus parrots. The park is home to about 300 animals in total.
Six of the world’s 42 species of birds of paradise have found sanctuary in the Port Moresby Nature Park. They number 26 birds in total and include: 12 Raggiana birds of paradise; 7 growling riflebirds; 3 trumpet manucodes; 2 crinkle- collared manucodes; 1 lesser bird of paradise; The bird of paradise is one of the most beautiful birds in the world – but its beauty is unfortunately its undoing. The tail feathers which adorn this iconic bird have been harvested for many generations to decorate humans and used as currency for trade. In PNG the bird’s plumes are prized as ceremonial body decoration during sing-sings, which take place during ritualised warfare, courtship and nearly every form of social interaction in PNG. Other parts of the world have also long revered the feathers as symbols of power, wealth, sexuality and fashion. There is evidence of their use in Asia 2000 years ago, with demand hitting a peak in Europe 150 years ago (in the 1880s-90s) when it became the height of fashion in cities such as Paris, London and New York for women to wear them in their hats. During the ‘plume boom’, Malay, Chinese, and Australian hunters came to seek their fortunes in New Guinea’s rainforests, with one of several impor- tant hunting grounds being the area in Western Province between the OkTedi and Muyu Rivers where the Yonggom people live. With up to 50,000 skins being exported from PNG each year, the trade almost wiped out some birds before the practice was finally outlawed in the 1920s. Since then, birds of paradise have been protected. All About the Feathers
No other bird group is so rich in variety of plumage, which ranges from black to a painter’s palette of bright colours. Some of the feathers are as delicate as lace, while others shimmer with a metallic golden sheen. Some males have wattles, bright-blue mouths, or coloured patches of naked skin.
VOLUME 42 2025
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