Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise
Species of bird
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus) is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm (13 in) long, velvet black and yellow bird-of-paradise. The male has a red iris, long black bill and rich yellow plumes along his flanks. From the rear of these plumes emerge twelve blackish, wire-like filaments, which bend back near their bases to sweep forward over the bird's hindquarters. The female is a brown bird with black-barred buff underparts. Their feet are strong, large-clawed and pink.
| Twelve-wired bird-of-paradise | |
|---|---|
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| Male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Paradisaeidae |
| Genus: | Seleucidis Lesson, RP, 1834 |
| Species: | S. melanoleucus |
| Binomial name | |
| Seleucidis melanoleucus (Daudin, 1800) | |
| Subspecies[2] | |
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| Synonyms | |
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The sole representative of the monotypic genus Seleucidis, the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise inhabits lowland and swamp forests,[5] particularly throughout New Guinea and Salawati Island, Indonesia. Their diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods, extending to frogs, insects, and nectar.[5]
The display dance of the twelve-wired bird of paradise is called a wire-wipe display. The male chooses an exposed vertical perch, flares his breast-shield, and displays his flank plumes and bare pigmented thighs. The male uses his twelve flank-plume "wires" to make contact with the female, brushing across her face and foreparts.[6]
The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,[1] and is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It has not been easy to breed them in captivity; the first successful captive breeding program was at Singapore's Jurong Bird Park, in 2001.[7]
Gallery
Female
A male in Jurong Bird Park
