Birds of Paradise

From the Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society:

When the British naturalist David Attenborough was asked to choose his favorite species on the planet, he picked Wilson’s Bird of Paradise, an extravagantly colored passerine found on an island off the coast of New Guinea. The first recorded footage of the bird was aired in the 1996 BBC production Attenborough in Paradise. It can be seen here.

There are 42 different species of birds of paradise found on New Guinea — “each more bizarre than the last,” notes Attenborough. Watch this incredible video of their elaborate courtship displays.

This last video is from the BBC's Planet Earth series. You can see more clips from it here.

full entry at the proceedings