Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise

Overview

The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise, Seleucidis melanoleucus, is a medium-sized bird of paradise and the sole member of the monotypic genus Seleucidis. It is currently evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List and is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

Identification

• Males are approximately 33 cm long, featuring a velvet black and yellow plumage with a red iris and long black bill.
• Rich yellow plumes line the flanks, from which emerge twelve blackish, wire-like filaments that bend back near the base to sweep forward over the hindquarters.
• Females are brown with black-barred buff underparts.
• Both sexes possess strong, large-clawed, pink feet.

Habitat

This species inhabits lowland and swamp forests, with a range that extends particularly throughout New Guinea and Salawati Island, Indonesia.

Diet

Its diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods, extending to include frogs, insects, and nectar.

Did you know?

The species' courtship ritual, known as the wire-wipe display, involves the male using his twelve flank-plume 'wires' to make physical contact with the female by brushing across her face and foreparts.