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  Profile

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  In flight

Birds of Paradise

Blue Bird-of-paradise

Paradisornis rudolphi

• mythic
• 1077 km/h
• Near Threatened

Near Threatened. Males hang upside-down, fanning cobalt plumes around a pulsing black oval with a red border.

Population

3,800–20,000 mature individuals, decreasing

Habitat

Lower montane forest, primarily 1,400–1,800 m elevation (occasionally 1,100–2,000 m); tolerates garden mosaics and degraded habitat but prefers primary forest for display sites

Fun fact

The male performs a spectacular solitary courtship display by hanging upside-down from a branch, fanning his violet-blue flank plumes like an apron while making a soft, insect-like buzzing sound and pulsating a black, red-bordered oval patch on his chest.

Range

Endemic to Papua New Guinea's eastern Central Ranges, from the Owen Stanley Range westward through the Herzog Mountains (also reported Tari Valley/Bismarck Range areas in some sources); two subspecies, P. r. rudolphi (southeast) and P. r. margaritae (east-central)

Diet

Primarily frugivorous (figs, drupes, berries), supplemented with arthropods and occasionally small vertebrates such as reptiles

Size

0.3 m

Lifespan

20 years