The standardwing bird-of-paradise (Semioptera wallacii), also known as Wallace’s standardwing is wearing a stunningly slick crown of violet-and-lilac, and its suit is finished off with a bright emerald green vest. Its impressive looks make it one of the prettiest birds in the animal kingdom.
The males are up to 11 inches long, and besides its crown and west, the most impressive features are two pairs of long white plumes protruding from the bend at the wing. The bird can raise or lower them at will.
Besides being smaller, the females have different colors, almost plain-looking when compared to flashy males. They are almost entirely brown and have longer tails than males. The beak and feet are the same color as males’.
The standardwing bird-of-paradise is endemic to and confined to three islands in Northern Maluku, eastern Indonesia, being the westernmost species of true birds-of-paradise.
On its island home, they prefer lowland tropical rainforest in hilly regions. However, they can sometimes be found in isolated woodland.
These birds are mainly frugivorous and feed on a wide variety of fruit like figs and drupes. But they won’t pass on an insect if the opportunity presents itself.
Males are polygamous, meeting up to perform a magnificent aerial display. They are “parachuting” with wings and its vivid green chest shield spread, and the wing “standards” fluttering above its back in an effort to impress females.
Unfortunately, more detailed information on the rest of the breeding process is not yet available.
The standardwing bird-of-paradise is also known as Wallace’s standardwing
Its impressive looks make it one of the prettiest birds in the animal kingdom.
wearing a stunningly slick crown of violet-and-lilac, and its suit is finished off with a bright emerald green vest
The males are up to 11 inches long
Though it has a very limited habitat range, the standardwing bird-of-paradise is quite common throughout it. It is labeled as the least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to its progressively fragmented habitat.
The standardwing bird-of-paradise can be found on three islands in Northern Maluku, eastern Indonesia.
The aerial display was filmed by famous author Ser David Attenborough for the BBC Natural World film “Attenborough in Paradise.” He later speculated that the reason for their extravagant behavior is to establish the hierarchy for breeding rights, rather than to directly impress the females.[
These birds are mainly frugivorous but will eat an insect occasionally.
It is named for Alfred Russell Wallace, who conducted important biological studies on the islands of the Malay Archipelago.
They led him to develop the same concepts of natural selection and speciation that Darwin was developing. Wallace was the first to register this bird.
Males are polygamous, and they gather when performing mating aerial displays.
The standardwing bird-of-paradise was filmed for the first time in 1986
These birds are rarely seen as they keep to themselves up high in the tree canopies. Even though their population size has not been quantified, and there is much to be learned yet about the breeding process and their care of the young ones, we know that their life span is five to eight years and that they are not endangered.
