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Birds of the Gods is a PBS Nature documentary on the bird of paradise in Papua New Guinea. It features the field research of conservationists Paul Igag and Miriam Supuma, who document the mating behaviors of different species of birds of paradise, and the ceremonial use of the birds' plumage by the tribes of New Guinea. [1]
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia papua, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 42 species in 15 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species which are sexually dimorphic, in particular the very long elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy.
The flag of Papua New Guinea was adopted on 1 July 1971. In the hoist, it depicts the Southern Cross; in the fly, a raggiana bird-of-paradise is silhouetted. The design was chosen through a nationwide design competition in early 1971. The winning designer was Susan Karike, who was 15 at the time.
Adelbert Range is a mountain range in Madang Province, north-central Papua New Guinea. The highest point of the mountains is at 1,716 metres (5,630 ft).
Bruce M. Beehler is an ornithologist and research associate of the Bird Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Prior to this appointment, Beehler worked for Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Counterpart International, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise is a bird in the bird-of-paradise family (Paradisaeidae). It is the only member of the genus Pteridophora. It is endemic to montane forest in New Guinea.
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise, also known as Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae.
Manucodes are birds-of-paradise in the genus Manucodia, that are medium-sized with black-glossed purple and green plumages.
Clifford Brodie Frith is a private Australian ornithologist and wildlife photographer. Dr Clifford B. Frith is an English born (1949) Australian citizen and ornithologist. He is an independent zoological researcher, consultant, natural history author, photographer and publisher.
The buff-breasted paradise kingfisher is a bird in the tree kingfisher subfamily, Halcyoninae. It is native to Australia and New Guinea. It migrates in November from New Guinea to its breeding grounds in the rainforest of North Queensland, Australia. Like all paradise kingfishers, this bird has colourful plumage with a red bill, buff breast and distinctive long tail streamers.
The Numfor paradise kingfisher, also known as the cobalt paradise kingfisher, is a tree kingfisher endemic to the Indonesian island of Numfor off the northwestern coast of New Guinea. It is a common species, but the forests where it lives are being affected by logging and the IUCN has rated its conservation status as "near-threatened".
The Biak paradise kingfisher is a tree kingfisher that is endemic to the Indonesian island of Biak which is one of a small group of islands located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua. This bird has a turquoise-blue back with a white belly and tail streamers and a reddish beak. Its natural habitat is forests and the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being "near-threatened".
The paradise kingfishers are a group of tree kingfishers endemic to New Guinea — with the exception of two species also present in the Moluccas and Queensland.
The common paradise kingfisher, also known as the Galatea paradise kingfisher and the racquet-tailed kingfisher, is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests of the Maluku Islands and New Guinea. Like all paradise kingfishers, it has a red bill and colourful plumage. The species is common and the IUCN has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Barnes's astrapia, also known as Barnes's long-tailed bird-of-paradise or Barnes's long-tail, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae and the genus Astrapia that is a likely hybrid between Stephanie's astrapia and the ribbon-tailed astrapia.
Lost Land of the Volcano is a three-part nature documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit which follows a scientific expedition to the island of New Guinea. The expedition team, which includes specialist zoologists, explorers and the BBC crew, travels to the extinct volcano of Mount Bosavi in central Papua New Guinea to document the biodiversity of this little-visited area and search for new species. At the time of filming, logging was taking place about 20 miles (32 km) south from the volcano, and one of expedition's aims was to find evidence to support the case to protect the area. Some members of the expedition team travelled to the island of New Britain several hundred kilometres to the east to chart an unexplored cave system and observe an active volcano.
The Wasur National Park forms part of the largest wetland in Papua province of Indonesia and has been one of the least disturbed by human activity. The high value of its biodiversity has led to the park being dubbed the "Serengeti of Papua". The vast open wetland, in particular Rawa Biru Lake, attracts a very rich fauna.
Paul Igag was a Papuan ornithologist.
Timothy G. Laman is an American ornithologist, wildlife photojournalist and filmmaker. He is notable for documenting all the species of bird-of-paradise in their native habitat during research expeditions with colleague Edwin Scholes of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. His bird-of-paradise work was first published in a 2007 article about them for National Geographic. In 2016, he won the top prize in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, for his image of an orangutan climbing a tree to feed on figs.
The Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise or crescent-caped lophorina, sometimes noted as the curl-caped bird-of-paradise, is a species of the Paradisaeidae (bird-of-paradise) family. It is endemic to the Bird's Head Peninsula in New Guinea. First described in 1930 by Ernst Mayr, it had been treated as a subspecies of the superb bird-of-paradise but was elevated to the status of a full species in 2018 based on its striking black plumage that its feathers absorb 99.95 percent of light and behavioral differences especially visible in the courting male, as shown in audiovisual data documented by Scholes and Timothy Laman of Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Miriam Supuma is a conservationist in Papua New Guinea (PNG). She was the co-founder and co-director of the PNG Institute of Biological Research (PNGIBR), a scientific research NGO. Her field research has centred around Birds of Paradise, particularly in relation to the use of their feathers for traditional adornment by people in the highlands of PNG.
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