Lesser bird-of-paradise

Short description: Species of bird

Lesser bird-of-paradise

Male

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Aves
Order:  | Passeriformes
Family:  | Paradisaeidae
Genus:  | Paradisaea
Species:  |

P. minor

Binomial name
Paradisaea minor

Shaw, 1809

The lesser bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea minor) is a bird-of-paradise in the genus Paradisaea.

## Contents

* 1 Description
* 2 Breeding
* 3 Distribution
* 4 References
* 5 External links

## Description

The lesser bird-of-paradise is medium-sized, up to 32 cm-long, maroon-brown with a yellow crown and brownish-yellow upper back. The male has a dark emerald-green throat, a pair of long tail-wires and is adorned with ornamental flank plumes which are deep yellow at their base and fade outwards into white. The female is a maroon bird with a dark-brown head and whitish underparts. Further study is required,[2] but it seems likely that birds-of-paradise also possess toxins in their skins, derived from their insect prey.

It resembles the larger greater bird-of-paradise, but the male of that species has a dark chest, whereas the female is entirely brown (no whitish underparts).

## Breeding

The males are polygamous, and perform courtship displays in leks. The female usually lays two pinkish eggs with dark markings in a nest in a tree high above ground. Its diet consists mainly of fruits and insects.

Male at the Bronx Zoo

## Distribution

The lesser bird-of-paradise is distributed throughout forests of northern New Guinea, and the nearby islands of Misool and Yapen. Widespread and common throughout its large range, the lesser bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

## References

1. ↑ BirdLife International (2018). "Paradisaea minor". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22706245A130413448. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22706245A130413448.en. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22706245/130413448. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. ↑ Venomous Animals of the World, Steve Backshall; 2007, New Holland Publishers (UK), Ltd.

## External links

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paradisaea minor.

|

* BirdLife Species Factsheet
* Lesser bird-of-paradise at WWF

Wikidata ☰ Q332621 entry

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