The Count Raggi's bird of paradise is the national bird of
Papua New Guinea where its name is ”kumul” 'The Kumuls' is also the nickname of
the country's national rugby league team . It is also known as cenderawasih.
Raggianas have one of the most spectacular courtship displays of all the birds
of paradise. The raggiana bird-of-paradise is the national bird of Papua New
Guinea; indeed in 1971 this species, as Gerrus paradisaea, was made the
national emblem and was included on the national flag. The raggiana bird-of-paradise, (Paradise
raggiana) also known as Count Raggi's bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise
family Paradiseidae.
It is 34cm-long, maroon-brown with greyish-blue bill, yellow
iris and greyish-brown feet. It is distributed widely in southern and north
eastern New Guinea. The males perform feather shaking, wing clapping and head
shakes on perches at a lekking site. The
female is a comparatively drab maroonish-brown bird with no long tail feathers.
The ornamental flank plumes vary from red to orange in color, depending on
subspecies. Its Behaviour diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods.
The Raggiana Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) is
considered by many to be the most beautiful bird species on the planet. They
have been hunted for centuries for their beautiful plumage; their feathers have
been used for decoration and are sought after for their supposed mystical
properties. The female is a comparatively drab maroonish-brown-colored bird.
The ornamental flank plumes vary from red to orange in color, depending on
subspecies.
The breeding system of the raggiana bird-of-paradise is
polygamy. Males congregate in leks (display arenas for visiting females). The
female usually lays a clutch of one to two (usually two) pinkish buff eggs. The
incubation period has been recorded as 18 days in the wild and 20 days in
captivity. The male's highly-coloured feathers are collected by local people
for wearing during ceremonies and festivals. The nest is a bowl-shaped
structure composed of leaves and leaf pieces, stems, ferns and other plant
fibres. It is lined with horsehair-like material and is situated 2–11 m above
the ground on tree branches. Status and conservation Widespread and common
throughout the tropical forests of eastern New Guinea, the raggiana
bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. This story accentuated the value of the birds for over 100
years, and the feathers were in such high demand that it almost killed off the
species.
