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For 500 years, these birds have been
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surrounded by myth and glamour.
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00:00:10,750 --> 00:00:14,190
And I've got to confess
that I've been fascinated by them
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00:00:14,190 --> 00:00:16,870
for most of my life.
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00:00:16,870 --> 00:00:21,110
This is just one member of
a hugely varied family
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00:00:21,110 --> 00:00:24,550
that, to my mind,
includes the most spectacular
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and beautiful birds on Earth.
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The birds of paradise.
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00:00:34,910 --> 00:00:36,150
And what's more,
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they throw light on some of
the great mysteries of evolution.
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00:00:45,470 --> 00:00:50,110
Why have the birds of paradise
become the most diverse, bizarre
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00:00:50,110 --> 00:00:53,030
and beautiful of all bird families?
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00:00:54,590 --> 00:00:57,790
Why have they developed
the most extravagant plumes
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00:00:57,790 --> 00:01:01,990
and adornments of any group
of living things on Earth,
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00:01:01,990 --> 00:01:06,270
so that sometimes, they almost cease
to look like birds at all?
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00:01:08,830 --> 00:01:11,270
And why is it
that this extraordinary family
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00:01:11,270 --> 00:01:13,190
is largely restricted
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to one jungle-covered island
in the Pacific?
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00:01:16,790 --> 00:01:19,270
TRILLING
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00:01:22,030 --> 00:01:24,070
Explorers and scientists
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00:01:24,070 --> 00:01:28,310
have been puzzling over these
questions for 500 years.
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Even today, by using
the latest filming techniques,
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00:01:31,630 --> 00:01:34,870
we are making new discoveries
about their behaviour.
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This surely is one of
the most spectacular sights
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00:01:42,150 --> 00:01:45,070
anyone could see
in the natural world.
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00:01:59,430 --> 00:02:01,870
The mystery of the birds of paradise
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00:02:01,870 --> 00:02:04,310
began back in the 16th century.
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00:02:07,150 --> 00:02:10,590
In 1522, a ship returning to Europe
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00:02:10,590 --> 00:02:14,670
from exploring the mysterious
islands of the Far East
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00:02:14,670 --> 00:02:17,670
brought with it,
amongst other marvels,
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00:02:17,670 --> 00:02:20,750
three extraordinary skins.
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00:02:20,750 --> 00:02:23,310
They were very like this one.
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00:02:23,310 --> 00:02:27,030
You can see it's a bird -
there's its beak, and its head.
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00:02:27,030 --> 00:02:30,110
And here are these long,
feathery plumes.
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00:02:31,110 --> 00:02:33,790
But it has no wings...
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00:02:33,790 --> 00:02:35,590
and no feet.
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00:02:35,590 --> 00:02:37,590
The explorers had been told that
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that was because these birds
lived in paradise.
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00:02:45,310 --> 00:02:48,190
The ship concerned was one of five
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00:02:48,190 --> 00:02:51,230
that had set out in 1519
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00:02:51,230 --> 00:02:54,630
to sail around the world
for the very first time,
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00:02:54,630 --> 00:02:58,750
under the command of the Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
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00:03:04,430 --> 00:03:09,150
They endured catastrophic
tropical storms and shipwrecks.
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00:03:09,150 --> 00:03:13,550
Magellan himself was killed
in a tribal war in the Philippines.
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00:03:14,670 --> 00:03:16,990
But after three gruelling years,
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00:03:16,990 --> 00:03:21,510
the Victoria, the sole surviving
ship, arrived back in Spain.
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00:03:23,190 --> 00:03:26,150
It was loaded with wonders
and treasures,
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00:03:26,150 --> 00:03:30,150
including those first specimens
of birds of paradise.
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00:03:34,270 --> 00:03:38,510
Magellan had been presented with
these skins by a king
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00:03:38,510 --> 00:03:42,670
in the Spice Islands - the Moluccas,
as we call them today -
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00:03:42,670 --> 00:03:44,870
in eastern Indonesia.
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00:03:44,870 --> 00:03:48,910
When Magellan's men asked why
they had no wings or no feet,
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00:03:48,910 --> 00:03:50,310
the people had a problem,
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00:03:50,310 --> 00:03:53,430
because they themselves
had never seen the birds alive.
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00:03:53,430 --> 00:03:55,510
They had been traded to the islands
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00:03:55,510 --> 00:03:59,310
from islands
even farther to the east.
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00:03:59,310 --> 00:04:01,110
So they made up an answer.
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00:04:01,110 --> 00:04:04,550
They said, "Well, it's because
the birds float high in the sky,
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00:04:04,550 --> 00:04:06,950
"among the clouds, feeding on dew,
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00:04:06,950 --> 00:04:11,350
"and human beings only see them when
they die and fall to the earth."
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00:04:13,710 --> 00:04:16,950
So the first descriptions of these
"birds of the gods"
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00:04:16,950 --> 00:04:19,990
were far from first-hand.
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00:04:19,990 --> 00:04:22,830
Yet they were accepted as fact
by Europeans.
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00:04:26,750 --> 00:04:31,350
This was one of the very first
paintings of a bird of paradise,
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00:04:31,350 --> 00:04:34,790
and it appears in the margin
of a book of prayers
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00:04:34,790 --> 00:04:37,470
written in 1540,
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00:04:37,470 --> 00:04:39,990
to show the devout
the sort of creatures
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00:04:39,990 --> 00:04:43,950
they might expect to see
when they got to paradise.
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00:04:43,950 --> 00:04:48,550
But it wasn't only the pious who
were interested in the discovery.
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00:04:48,550 --> 00:04:50,830
So were naturalists.
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00:04:50,830 --> 00:04:54,910
But their understanding of the birds
was similarly clouded by mythology.
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00:04:58,270 --> 00:05:03,830
This is the first volume in a great
encyclopaedia of natural history
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00:05:03,830 --> 00:05:08,550
published in 1599 by an Italian
called Aldrovandus.
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00:05:08,550 --> 00:05:13,590
And it's full of remarkably
accurate pictures and descriptions.
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00:05:13,590 --> 00:05:16,870
There's a toucan, for example.
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00:05:16,870 --> 00:05:19,910
And here is a hornbill.
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00:05:19,910 --> 00:05:22,070
But turn another couple of pages...
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..and a bird of paradise,
without legs,
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00:05:28,950 --> 00:05:31,830
floating in the skies. No wings.
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00:05:32,950 --> 00:05:36,350
And here it is
drinking dew from the clouds.
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00:05:38,590 --> 00:05:42,670
Aldrovandus was so respected
that this view of the habits
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00:05:42,670 --> 00:05:46,910
of birds of paradise persisted
well into the 17th century.
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00:05:49,190 --> 00:05:53,430
It's hardly surprising that these
pictures are wildly inaccurate,
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00:05:53,430 --> 00:05:58,110
bearing in mind that they were
drawn from those flattened skins.
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00:05:58,110 --> 00:06:01,990
After all, no-one in Europe had ever
seen wings or legs
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00:06:01,990 --> 00:06:04,510
attached to these
astonishing plumes.
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00:06:05,630 --> 00:06:08,230
So it was not unreasonable
for Europeans,
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00:06:08,230 --> 00:06:11,310
who still believed in dragons
and mermaids,
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00:06:11,310 --> 00:06:15,270
to accept that these birds
lived in paradise.
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00:06:16,590 --> 00:06:19,750
But still no-one knew
where the skins actually came from.
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00:06:21,470 --> 00:06:25,710
In fact, the birds
come from New Guinea.
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00:06:25,710 --> 00:06:30,790
It's 1,000 miles long
and lies just north of Australia.
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00:06:30,790 --> 00:06:34,070
And there, of course, the people
knew perfectly well
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00:06:34,070 --> 00:06:35,910
the truth about the birds.
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00:06:35,910 --> 00:06:38,310
They hunted them for the sake
of their plumes,
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00:06:38,310 --> 00:06:42,270
which they used as currency and in
many of their important ceremonials.
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00:06:43,990 --> 00:06:47,670
My first opportunity
to see these wonderful birds
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00:06:47,670 --> 00:06:51,470
came when I went to New Guinea
back in 1957.
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00:06:53,550 --> 00:06:57,790
We saw a wide, fertile valley
ringed with mountains.
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00:06:57,790 --> 00:07:00,990
This was our destination -
the valley of the Wahgi River.
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00:07:04,310 --> 00:07:07,550
Within a few minutes of landing,
I saw coming towards me
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00:07:07,550 --> 00:07:10,630
through the tall grass
a party of tribesmen
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00:07:10,630 --> 00:07:13,270
wearing magnificent
feather headdresses.
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00:07:17,310 --> 00:07:20,150
We filmed a celebration
called a Sing-sing,
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00:07:20,150 --> 00:07:21,990
during which tribal people,
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00:07:21,990 --> 00:07:26,270
wearing spectacular headdresses
of birds-of-paradise plumes,
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00:07:26,270 --> 00:07:29,110
gather together to dance and chant.
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00:07:31,950 --> 00:07:34,190
And I took these photographs.
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00:07:35,390 --> 00:07:37,870
They displayed them
during their dances,
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00:07:37,870 --> 00:07:40,470
showing how wealthy
each of the men were
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00:07:40,470 --> 00:07:43,350
by having these
enormous headdresses.
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00:07:43,350 --> 00:07:45,910
That's Princess Stephanie's
black tail feathers.
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00:07:45,910 --> 00:07:50,110
These are King of Saxony's feathers
from the top of the head.
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00:07:50,110 --> 00:07:53,390
These are the red plumes
of Count Raggi's bird of paradise,
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00:07:53,390 --> 00:07:56,710
and these the yellow ones
of the Lesser.
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00:07:56,710 --> 00:08:00,350
When they came to have marriages,
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00:08:00,350 --> 00:08:03,830
a party going to collect a bride
would have to take a gift
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00:08:03,830 --> 00:08:06,870
to the bride's parents
of birds-of-paradise plumes.
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00:08:06,870 --> 00:08:09,510
And they arrange them
on these great banners.
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00:08:09,510 --> 00:08:14,350
There's a front view of that
with nearly two dozen sets
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00:08:14,350 --> 00:08:18,670
of bird-of-paradise plumes
all around the side of the banner.
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00:08:18,670 --> 00:08:21,710
And down the middle there,
gold-lipped pearl shells.
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00:08:27,390 --> 00:08:30,430
For thousands of years,
the plumes have been traded
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00:08:30,430 --> 00:08:33,990
from this part of New Guinea
right across Indonesia,
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00:08:33,990 --> 00:08:36,950
up into South-East Asia and beyond.
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00:08:42,070 --> 00:08:46,870
In Europe 400 years ago,
many aristocratic families
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00:08:46,870 --> 00:08:49,070
possessed cabinets of curiosities
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00:08:49,070 --> 00:08:52,550
in which they displayed their
collections of natural wonders,
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00:08:52,550 --> 00:08:57,270
and specimens of birds of paradise
were amongst the most precious.
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00:09:07,510 --> 00:09:11,670
Their splendour even caught the eye
of British royalty.
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00:09:14,110 --> 00:09:17,790
The young Scottish prince who was
going to become Charles I of England
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00:09:17,790 --> 00:09:23,590
had his portrait painted with his
furry hat on the table beside him,
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00:09:23,590 --> 00:09:26,830
and in it, his most
treasured possession -
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00:09:26,830 --> 00:09:29,550
the plumes of birds of paradise.
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00:09:31,590 --> 00:09:36,070
Naturalists, seeking to
curry favour with the aristocracy
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00:09:36,070 --> 00:09:39,190
and get financial backing
for their expeditions,
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00:09:39,190 --> 00:09:43,990
promised to name any new species
they discovered after their patrons,
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00:09:43,990 --> 00:09:45,990
and indeed they did so.
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00:09:47,190 --> 00:09:50,470
This is Queen Carola's
bird of paradise,
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with plumes on the top of his head.
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This one was named
after an Italian count,
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00:09:56,350 --> 00:09:58,390
Count Raggi's bird of paradise.
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00:09:58,390 --> 00:10:00,990
This one was named after
Queen Victoria.
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00:10:00,990 --> 00:10:05,110
And this one is Prince Rudolf's
bird of paradise,
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00:10:05,110 --> 00:10:08,870
though it's more often known these
days as the blue bird of paradise.
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00:10:08,870 --> 00:10:12,430
And here is Princess Stephanie's
bird of paradise,
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with a great, long, glossy
black plume.
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00:10:19,110 --> 00:10:21,750
Not all were named after royalty.
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00:10:23,790 --> 00:10:27,870
Napoleon Bonaparte's nephew,
fired with republican zeal,
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00:10:27,870 --> 00:10:31,710
named this one
Diphyllodes Respublica,
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the Republican
or People's bird of paradise.
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00:10:34,750 --> 00:10:37,630
But the popular version
of the name didn't catch on,
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00:10:37,630 --> 00:10:40,990
and these days
we call it Wilson's Bird.
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00:10:44,510 --> 00:10:46,750
Unlike the showy males,
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the female birds-of-paradise
are drab and brown in colour.
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All look very similar, so you can
well believe that they are related.
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It's just the males
with their extravagant decorations
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00:11:00,750 --> 00:11:03,590
that make the individual species
look so different.
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00:11:05,830 --> 00:11:09,110
But even as late
as the 19th century, no European
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had seen anything of these birds
except their dried skins.
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00:11:12,750 --> 00:11:15,790
And people wondered what
the living birds must look like.
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00:11:17,190 --> 00:11:20,670
Errol Fuller,
a collector who owns specimens
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00:11:20,670 --> 00:11:24,310
of 37 of the 39 known species
of birds of paradise,
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00:11:24,310 --> 00:11:28,990
also paints them, and understands
the difficulties involved.
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00:11:33,270 --> 00:11:36,710
The early painters of birds couldn't
go and see these things in the wild,
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00:11:36,710 --> 00:11:39,030
and they couldn't see them
in captivity,
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00:11:39,030 --> 00:11:42,190
so they were presented
with something like this.
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00:11:43,230 --> 00:11:47,350
A dried, flattened skin that had
been brought back from New Guinea,
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and this was all they had to go on
to make their painting.
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This is a Black Sicklebill
bird of paradise.
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00:11:52,750 --> 00:11:56,190
And the problem they had
were things like this.
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What on earth are these?
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00:11:58,230 --> 00:12:01,670
They look at first sight like wings.
But they're not wings.
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00:12:01,670 --> 00:12:04,910
The wings are down here.
They're just ornamental plumes,
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00:12:04,910 --> 00:12:07,750
and there are more
ornamental plumes down here.
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So, what did the bird
do with these in life?
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This is a mid-19th-century
artist's answer,
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and it's wildly inaccurate.
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00:12:20,470 --> 00:12:24,030
The Sicklebill
actually displays like this.
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00:12:27,070 --> 00:12:31,350
It takes him a little time to work
up to his full display posture.
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00:12:40,910 --> 00:12:41,830
There!
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00:12:43,510 --> 00:12:46,270
He lifts up those feathery tufts
on his shoulders,
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00:12:46,270 --> 00:12:50,230
and holds them around his head so
that he hardly looks like a bird.
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00:12:54,870 --> 00:12:58,790
And he repeats the performance
on the same display post
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00:12:58,790 --> 00:13:01,190
up to five times every morning.
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00:13:05,870 --> 00:13:10,510
It wasn't until 300 years after
Europeans saw the first skins
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00:13:10,510 --> 00:13:14,430
that anyone actually saw a bird
of paradise displaying in the wild.
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00:13:16,270 --> 00:13:20,510
And the person who did so
was the British explorer
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00:13:20,510 --> 00:13:23,590
Alfred Russel Wallace
who, along with Darwin,
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00:13:23,590 --> 00:13:26,990
first proposed the theory of
evolution by natural selection.
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00:13:28,830 --> 00:13:33,230
Alfred Russel Wallace was
a great naturalist and scientist,
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00:13:33,230 --> 00:13:35,230
but he was not a wealthy man.
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00:13:35,230 --> 00:13:39,790
He earned his living by going to
the tropics and collecting insects
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00:13:39,790 --> 00:13:43,390
and birds, and sending them back
for sale to wealthy collectors
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00:13:43,390 --> 00:13:44,870
and to museums.
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00:13:44,870 --> 00:13:48,950
And he was obsessed
with birds of paradise.
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00:13:48,950 --> 00:13:52,710
In 1854, he set off for New Guinea.
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00:13:52,710 --> 00:14:00,110
He became the first European ever
to see birds of paradise display.
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00:14:00,110 --> 00:14:03,190
Here is his description
of that sight.
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00:14:05,310 --> 00:14:10,470
"On one of these trees, a dozen
or 20 full-plumaged male birds
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00:14:10,470 --> 00:14:12,910
"assemble together,
raise up their wings,
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00:14:12,910 --> 00:14:16,590
"stretch out their necks
and elevate their exquisite plumes,
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00:14:16,590 --> 00:14:19,350
"keeping them
in a continual vibration."
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00:14:24,070 --> 00:14:25,870
"At the time of excitement,
206
00:14:25,870 --> 00:14:28,350
"the wings are raised vertically
over the back,
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00:14:28,350 --> 00:14:30,590
"the head is bent down
and stretched out,
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00:14:30,590 --> 00:14:33,230
"and the long plumes
are raised up and expanded
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00:14:33,230 --> 00:14:36,270
"till they form
two magnificent golden fans."
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00:14:45,670 --> 00:14:49,470
Wallace's description
amazed the world, and his book,
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00:14:49,470 --> 00:14:53,230
Travels in the Malay Archipelago,
went on to become
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00:14:53,230 --> 00:14:57,990
one of the bestselling travel books
of the 19th century.
213
00:14:57,990 --> 00:15:00,870
I myself read it
when I was about nine or ten,
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00:15:00,870 --> 00:15:05,950
and the frontispiece to
the second volume fascinated me.
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00:15:05,950 --> 00:15:08,510
Here are the birds in display.
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00:15:10,190 --> 00:15:13,630
I yearned to go off
and see such a sight for myself.
217
00:15:21,990 --> 00:15:25,190
It was on that first trip
to New Guinea in 1957,
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00:15:25,190 --> 00:15:29,310
for a television series called
Zoo Quest, that I got my chance.
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00:15:34,590 --> 00:15:36,030
During the first month,
220
00:15:36,030 --> 00:15:39,630
we saw plenty of plumes of
birds of paradise on headdresses,
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00:15:39,630 --> 00:15:42,110
but none on the living birds.
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00:15:42,110 --> 00:15:44,310
At just one Sing-sing,
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00:15:44,310 --> 00:15:48,790
I estimated that there were
20,000 bird skins on display.
224
00:15:48,790 --> 00:15:51,590
It seemed to me unlikely
that we were going to find
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00:15:51,590 --> 00:15:54,790
many birds of paradise alive
around here.
226
00:15:56,710 --> 00:16:00,390
So we decided to travel
somewhere further afield,
227
00:16:00,390 --> 00:16:04,630
where there were fewer people,
in order to find the living birds.
228
00:16:06,270 --> 00:16:10,950
We went to the north to a valley
that was then quite unexplored,
229
00:16:10,950 --> 00:16:14,510
an "uncontrolled territory",
as they called it at the time.
230
00:16:14,510 --> 00:16:17,230
The people were really still
living in the Stone Age,
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00:16:17,230 --> 00:16:20,070
making stone axes like this.
232
00:16:20,070 --> 00:16:24,710
We had to cross rivers with
locally made suspension bridges,
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00:16:24,710 --> 00:16:26,150
like this one.
234
00:16:26,150 --> 00:16:28,190
Or even had to wade our way across,
235
00:16:28,190 --> 00:16:32,550
and we had 100 porters
carrying everything we needed -
236
00:16:32,550 --> 00:16:36,510
food, gifts, cakes of salt,
that sort of thing.
237
00:16:36,510 --> 00:16:38,950
Eventually, we did find the birds.
238
00:16:44,110 --> 00:16:47,710
The valley was throbbing with calls
of Count Raggi's Paradise Birds.
239
00:16:47,710 --> 00:16:51,230
As far as we knew, no-one had ever
filmed the courtship dance
240
00:16:51,230 --> 00:16:53,470
of these birds of paradise
in the wild.
241
00:16:53,470 --> 00:16:55,230
And this was to be our lucky day.
242
00:16:57,470 --> 00:16:59,910
We could see
his gorgeous red plumes
243
00:16:59,910 --> 00:17:01,750
hanging from beneath his wings.
244
00:17:03,350 --> 00:17:07,710
The plumes which make him
so coveted and so desirable a prize
245
00:17:07,710 --> 00:17:09,310
for all the people hereabouts.
246
00:17:11,110 --> 00:17:13,990
And then suddenly,
in a frenzy of excitement,
247
00:17:13,990 --> 00:17:17,710
he threw his ruby plumes above his
head, shrieking with excitement.
248
00:17:21,030 --> 00:17:24,670
Our film, even if it was in
black and white and rather fuzzy,
249
00:17:24,670 --> 00:17:28,670
was the first record of a wild
bird of paradise in display,
250
00:17:28,670 --> 00:17:32,190
and showed exactly
how he erected his plumes.
251
00:17:36,110 --> 00:17:40,910
And this skin, which I found in
a Paris flea market some years ago,
252
00:17:40,910 --> 00:17:43,950
is of the bird that we filmed
in black and white,
253
00:17:43,950 --> 00:17:47,910
and here you can see how wonderfully
rich its plumage was.
254
00:17:47,910 --> 00:17:52,270
This a trade skin, just as
the people prepare it in New Guinea,
255
00:17:52,270 --> 00:17:56,150
without any legs
and without any wings.
256
00:17:56,150 --> 00:18:00,990
Both have been removed to emphasise
the glory of these plumes.
257
00:18:02,230 --> 00:18:04,270
After ten minutes,
258
00:18:04,270 --> 00:18:08,550
he executed a final flutter
and flew to another branch.
259
00:18:10,190 --> 00:18:12,990
But this was only
a single bird in display.
260
00:18:17,590 --> 00:18:21,950
It was another 40 years
before I saw the group display
261
00:18:21,950 --> 00:18:24,590
of the larger
and more impressive species,
262
00:18:24,590 --> 00:18:28,430
the greater bird of paradise,
that Wallace had described.
263
00:18:31,590 --> 00:18:36,190
The birds are in another
emergent tree just like this one,
264
00:18:36,190 --> 00:18:39,630
and I've got an absolutely
clear view of them.
265
00:18:41,430 --> 00:18:44,910
This, at last,
is Wallace's picture come to life.
266
00:18:52,430 --> 00:18:56,790
Wallace described the display very
accurately, as you would expect.
267
00:18:56,790 --> 00:19:00,830
But he didn't understand why
the birds were behaving like this,
268
00:19:00,830 --> 00:19:02,750
in a group.
269
00:19:08,870 --> 00:19:12,990
So even 300 years after
the discovery of these birds,
270
00:19:12,990 --> 00:19:16,670
the purpose of their displays
still wasn't properly understood.
271
00:19:20,470 --> 00:19:23,470
And it wasn't just
the greater bird of paradise
272
00:19:23,470 --> 00:19:25,310
that perplexed naturalists.
273
00:19:28,350 --> 00:19:32,030
The second species of bird
of paradise to arrive in Europe
274
00:19:32,030 --> 00:19:33,710
at the end of the 16th century
275
00:19:33,710 --> 00:19:37,910
appeared to be an even more
bizarre-looking creature.
276
00:19:37,910 --> 00:19:40,790
It still had a pair of golden plumes
277
00:19:40,790 --> 00:19:45,550
sprouting from its flanks to justify
it being called a bird of paradise.
278
00:19:47,030 --> 00:19:50,110
It seems to have been painted
soon after its arrival,
279
00:19:50,110 --> 00:19:52,630
as the gold colour fades with time,
280
00:19:52,630 --> 00:19:56,990
and, like the first ones,
it had no wings or legs,
281
00:19:56,990 --> 00:20:00,670
but it did have some extra,
rather mysterious adornments.
282
00:20:05,070 --> 00:20:06,430
This is it.
283
00:20:06,430 --> 00:20:09,430
It's called the
twelve-wired bird of paradise.
284
00:20:09,430 --> 00:20:14,950
That's because it has thin, naked
quills sprouting from the tail,
285
00:20:14,950 --> 00:20:18,350
six on one side, six on the other.
286
00:20:18,350 --> 00:20:21,150
What were such things used for?
287
00:20:21,150 --> 00:20:24,230
Some people suggested
that it wasn't natural
288
00:20:24,230 --> 00:20:26,550
that they were curled up
in this way,
289
00:20:26,550 --> 00:20:29,750
that it happened because of the way
the bird was packed.
290
00:20:29,750 --> 00:20:32,950
Others suggested
that maybe it roosted
291
00:20:32,950 --> 00:20:35,870
by hanging from them upside down.
292
00:20:35,870 --> 00:20:38,070
Nobody had any idea.
293
00:20:39,630 --> 00:20:43,910
In the years that followed, more
specimens of this bird appeared,
294
00:20:43,910 --> 00:20:48,510
and other artists made a somewhat
better job of depicting it.
295
00:20:54,670 --> 00:20:58,870
But the function of those
strange 12 wires remained a mystery.
296
00:21:02,030 --> 00:21:05,910
It was only on my second trip
to New Guinea in 1997,
297
00:21:05,910 --> 00:21:10,150
when we filmed the bizarre
courtship of this bird
298
00:21:10,150 --> 00:21:12,590
for the very first time,
that we found the answer.
299
00:21:17,870 --> 00:21:20,910
Courtship seems to be
some kind of game,
300
00:21:20,910 --> 00:21:24,550
a variation of "I'm the king
of the castle", perhaps,
301
00:21:24,550 --> 00:21:26,950
only with a very special prize.
302
00:21:39,430 --> 00:21:42,830
He deliberately brushed her face
with his rear quills.
303
00:21:46,510 --> 00:21:48,230
He's doing it again.
304
00:21:48,230 --> 00:21:51,670
It seems that she prefers to be
seduced, not by visual thrills,
305
00:21:51,670 --> 00:21:53,990
but by tactile ones.
306
00:21:58,470 --> 00:22:01,750
It may be an odd technique,
but it works.
307
00:22:03,990 --> 00:22:08,070
So it took 400 years
from the arrival of the first skin
308
00:22:08,070 --> 00:22:11,910
of the twelve-wired bird to
actually record its courtship ritual
309
00:22:11,910 --> 00:22:16,750
and finally solve the mystery
of the peculiar adornments.
310
00:22:18,510 --> 00:22:20,390
But there's another species
311
00:22:20,390 --> 00:22:24,950
whose display is perhaps the hardest
of all to interpret from its skin.
312
00:22:24,950 --> 00:22:27,950
It doesn't so much
flaunt its feathers
313
00:22:27,950 --> 00:22:31,110
as use them to
entirely transform itself.
314
00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:36,910
This is the
superb bird of paradise,
315
00:22:36,910 --> 00:22:40,550
and it has this wonderful shield
on its breast.
316
00:22:41,670 --> 00:22:44,790
This blue colour isn't pigment.
317
00:22:44,790 --> 00:22:50,110
It's reflected light, like that
that comes from a thin film of oil.
318
00:22:50,110 --> 00:22:54,350
So it changes
according to how you view it.
319
00:22:54,350 --> 00:22:56,790
But that's not its only decoration.
320
00:22:56,790 --> 00:23:00,310
On its back it has a kind of cape.
321
00:23:00,310 --> 00:23:03,670
These aren't wings,
they are just feathers.
322
00:23:04,910 --> 00:23:08,470
How would the bird
have displayed that?
323
00:23:08,470 --> 00:23:12,430
That was the problem facing
19th-century bird illustrators.
324
00:23:16,270 --> 00:23:18,910
Artists did their best to work out
325
00:23:18,910 --> 00:23:21,670
how the birds
showed off their ornaments.
326
00:23:27,270 --> 00:23:32,230
This version shows the superb bird's
colours more or less correctly.
327
00:23:32,230 --> 00:23:35,590
But otherwise,
it's nowhere near the truth.
328
00:23:37,230 --> 00:23:40,670
It wasn't until
the late 20th century
329
00:23:40,670 --> 00:23:43,110
that ornithologists
managed to work out
330
00:23:43,110 --> 00:23:47,350
just how the superb bird uses
its feathers to transform itself.
331
00:23:47,350 --> 00:23:50,990
These drawings by
the Australian artist Bill Cooper
332
00:23:50,990 --> 00:23:53,070
show just how it does it.
333
00:23:53,070 --> 00:23:57,870
It uses these long black feathers,
which form a cape on its back,
334
00:23:57,870 --> 00:24:00,950
and brings them forward
to form a funnel.
335
00:24:00,950 --> 00:24:04,830
Then the green...
Iridescent green breast shield
336
00:24:04,830 --> 00:24:07,270
forms the base of the funnel.
337
00:24:07,270 --> 00:24:11,630
And in the far depths, there appear
to be two eyes staring at you.
338
00:24:11,630 --> 00:24:13,990
In fact,
they're not even eyes at all.
339
00:24:13,990 --> 00:24:15,990
They're white spots on its head.
340
00:24:18,030 --> 00:24:22,910
I think if in the 19th century
any artist had suggested that
341
00:24:22,910 --> 00:24:26,550
that's what the bird did, he
really would have been ridiculed.
342
00:24:28,190 --> 00:24:31,270
But no drawing
can completely capture
343
00:24:31,270 --> 00:24:36,110
the extraordinary way the superb
bird transforms itself in display.
344
00:24:40,070 --> 00:24:43,390
You just have to see
the living bird.
345
00:24:43,390 --> 00:24:46,070
CLICKING
346
00:24:50,910 --> 00:24:54,190
The rhythmic clicks are made
by flicking the wing feathers.
347
00:25:05,590 --> 00:25:09,590
In 1996, I was able to watch
Bill Cooper at work
348
00:25:09,590 --> 00:25:12,310
as he painted
another bird of paradise,
349
00:25:12,310 --> 00:25:13,710
a Victoria Riflebird.
350
00:25:18,750 --> 00:25:21,190
This is one of the few
birds of paradise
351
00:25:21,190 --> 00:25:24,830
that is found outside New Guinea
or its offshore islands.
352
00:25:24,830 --> 00:25:27,310
It lives in Australia,
in northern Queensland,
353
00:25:27,310 --> 00:25:32,110
where Bill Cooper also has his home,
in an unspoilt patch of rainforest.
354
00:25:32,110 --> 00:25:34,190
Come on, boy. Come on, gorgeous.
355
00:25:36,630 --> 00:25:38,270
Oh, look at that colour!
356
00:25:38,270 --> 00:25:40,110
Here he comes. Come on.
357
00:25:49,870 --> 00:25:51,670
Oh, you are lovely.
358
00:25:53,910 --> 00:25:56,990
As a young man,
Bill Cooper travelled
359
00:25:56,990 --> 00:25:59,310
through some of the wildest parts
of New Guinea,
360
00:25:59,310 --> 00:26:01,430
watching and painting the birds.
361
00:26:01,430 --> 00:26:05,270
It was Count Raggi's that he
encountered first, as I had done.
362
00:26:06,910 --> 00:26:09,190
It turned and faced the female,
363
00:26:09,190 --> 00:26:12,190
and then the male
started shuffling towards her,
364
00:26:12,190 --> 00:26:14,030
and he puffed out
his chest feathers -
365
00:26:14,030 --> 00:26:15,670
I'd wondered what they were for,
366
00:26:15,670 --> 00:26:18,310
but he fluffed them out
and formed a great pompom
367
00:26:18,310 --> 00:26:20,510
through which his beak
was protruding.
368
00:26:20,510 --> 00:26:21,910
It was a great display.
369
00:26:28,030 --> 00:26:30,270
Bill Cooper, to my mind anyway,
370
00:26:30,270 --> 00:26:34,950
is the greatest of all
bird-of-paradise illustrators.
371
00:26:34,950 --> 00:26:38,790
And this one of the blue bird in
display is particularly successful.
372
00:26:38,790 --> 00:26:42,070
He's caught this wonderful
intensity of blue
373
00:26:42,070 --> 00:26:44,270
as the bird hangs upside down.
374
00:26:44,270 --> 00:26:46,430
But what even Bill Cooper can't do
375
00:26:46,430 --> 00:26:49,790
is to show that the male blue bird,
as he hangs like this,
376
00:26:49,790 --> 00:26:55,070
actually throbs this pattern here,
making a noise at the same time
377
00:26:55,070 --> 00:26:59,110
that sounds like some electronic
equipment that's gone wrong.
378
00:27:12,190 --> 00:27:15,990
Images of birds of paradise
have become increasingly accurate
379
00:27:15,990 --> 00:27:17,990
since those first attempts.
380
00:27:23,070 --> 00:27:26,950
The plumed birds, in particular,
that dance high in the trees,
381
00:27:26,950 --> 00:27:29,230
became better known scientifically
382
00:27:29,230 --> 00:27:33,070
as explorers and naturalists
travelled more widely
383
00:27:33,070 --> 00:27:35,670
through New Guinea's dense forests.
384
00:27:35,670 --> 00:27:39,750
However, a few species
display not up in the branches,
385
00:27:39,750 --> 00:27:42,070
but on the ground.
386
00:27:43,110 --> 00:27:46,870
They are more difficult to observe.
387
00:27:46,870 --> 00:27:51,510
But we did manage to film one
in display for the very first time
388
00:27:51,510 --> 00:27:53,950
on my trip in 1997.
389
00:27:55,350 --> 00:27:57,830
I have come to the island
of Batanta.
390
00:27:57,830 --> 00:28:02,070
It has its own species of
bird of paradise that evolved here
391
00:28:02,070 --> 00:28:04,310
and lives nowhere else.
392
00:28:04,310 --> 00:28:06,550
One way of trying
to get a look at it
393
00:28:06,550 --> 00:28:11,070
is to put some leaves on this arena,
394
00:28:11,070 --> 00:28:15,430
because this bird
is meticulously tidy.
395
00:28:17,070 --> 00:28:18,510
There he is!
396
00:28:21,990 --> 00:28:24,470
Wilson's bird of paradise.
397
00:28:24,470 --> 00:28:29,510
He's got his own fashion gimmick -
the bald look.
398
00:28:33,550 --> 00:28:36,830
There goes the first of the leaves
that I dropped.
399
00:28:36,830 --> 00:28:39,070
He is really quite small.
400
00:28:39,070 --> 00:28:41,070
Only the size of a starling.
401
00:28:52,350 --> 00:28:53,710
That looks like a female.
402
00:29:22,310 --> 00:29:24,550
He's clearly not much of a dancer,
403
00:29:24,550 --> 00:29:28,070
but with a costume like that,
who would need to be?
404
00:29:35,510 --> 00:29:37,550
What an amazing bird!
405
00:29:37,550 --> 00:29:40,790
I've seen lots of coloured
illustrations of them,
406
00:29:40,790 --> 00:29:43,470
I have seen mounted specimens
in museums,
407
00:29:43,470 --> 00:29:47,510
but nothing has prepared me for the
splendour of this wonderful thing.
408
00:29:50,350 --> 00:29:53,790
Although Wilson's bird
is very spectacular,
409
00:29:53,790 --> 00:29:56,630
there are other
ground-living species
410
00:29:56,630 --> 00:29:58,870
with much more complex dances.
411
00:30:03,350 --> 00:30:07,430
In 1876, an Italian explorer,
Luigi D'Albertis,
412
00:30:07,430 --> 00:30:10,390
spent many months
charting the territory
413
00:30:10,390 --> 00:30:13,910
of the then virtually unknown
interior of New Guinea.
414
00:30:17,790 --> 00:30:20,510
During one of his excursions
through the forest,
415
00:30:20,510 --> 00:30:25,110
his local guide pointed to a bird
sitting on a perch in a clearing.
416
00:30:27,350 --> 00:30:31,990
D'Albertis's first reaction
was to shoot and skin the bird,
417
00:30:31,990 --> 00:30:35,430
as he had done with every other
specimen that he had collected.
418
00:30:35,430 --> 00:30:38,790
And he was just about
to pull the trigger
419
00:30:38,790 --> 00:30:43,550
when the local man put his hand
on his arm and said, "Wait."
420
00:30:44,790 --> 00:30:48,430
Then D'Albertis
became the first European ever
421
00:30:48,430 --> 00:30:51,870
to see the display
of the parotia bird of paradise.
422
00:30:51,870 --> 00:30:54,150
This is how he describes it
in his book.
423
00:30:57,390 --> 00:31:01,230
"The bird spread and contracted
the long feathers on his sides
424
00:31:01,230 --> 00:31:03,470
"in a way that made him appear
now larger,
425
00:31:03,470 --> 00:31:06,030
"and again smaller
than his real size."
426
00:31:07,350 --> 00:31:10,750
"And jumping first to one side,
and then on the other,
427
00:31:10,750 --> 00:31:14,190
"he placed himself proudly
in an attitude of combat,
428
00:31:14,190 --> 00:31:17,870
"as though he imagined himself
fighting with an invisible foe."
429
00:31:19,710 --> 00:31:23,390
"All this time he was uttering
a curious note
430
00:31:23,390 --> 00:31:27,030
"as though calling on someone
to admire his beauty,
431
00:31:27,030 --> 00:31:29,430
"or perhaps challenging an enemy.
432
00:31:29,430 --> 00:31:34,550
"The deep silence of the forest was
stirred by the echoes of his voice."
433
00:31:38,830 --> 00:31:42,150
And then he pressed the trigger
and shot it.
434
00:31:42,150 --> 00:31:43,910
GUNSHOT
435
00:31:48,350 --> 00:31:50,390
"When the smoke cleared away,
436
00:31:50,390 --> 00:31:53,670
"a black object
lying in the middle of the glade
437
00:31:53,670 --> 00:31:57,310
"showed me that
I had not missed my mark."
438
00:31:58,510 --> 00:32:02,990
"Full of joy, I ran
to possess myself of my prey.
439
00:32:02,990 --> 00:32:06,430
"But, as I drew near,
my courage failed me.
440
00:32:06,430 --> 00:32:08,910
"I could not stretch forth
my hand.
441
00:32:08,910 --> 00:32:11,790
"And, full of remorse
I said to myself,
442
00:32:11,790 --> 00:32:14,350
"'Man is indeed cruel.'
443
00:32:14,350 --> 00:32:17,430
"The poor creature
was full of happiness.
444
00:32:17,430 --> 00:32:21,470
"One flash from a gun
and all his joy is past."
445
00:32:29,550 --> 00:32:32,630
Now, film-makers like Paul Stewart
446
00:32:32,630 --> 00:32:36,510
hunt the birds not with guns,
but cameras.
447
00:32:36,510 --> 00:32:39,950
Using the latest ultra-sensitive
filming equipment,
448
00:32:39,950 --> 00:32:43,630
he captured the parotia's behaviour
in meticulous detail.
449
00:32:45,230 --> 00:32:47,270
The key to filming them
450
00:32:47,270 --> 00:32:49,910
is for them to have no idea
that you're there.
451
00:32:51,550 --> 00:32:53,710
And the best way to achieve that
452
00:32:53,710 --> 00:32:56,590
is to build a hide
with the help of the local people.
453
00:32:58,870 --> 00:33:03,110
You go in before first light,
you leave after dusk,
454
00:33:03,110 --> 00:33:07,590
and in between you are as silent
as you humanly can be.
455
00:33:10,190 --> 00:33:17,550
In 2005, he spent five weeks
filming Lawes's parotia in action.
456
00:33:17,550 --> 00:33:21,790
Eventually, he saw the male start
to clear his display area or court.
457
00:33:25,270 --> 00:33:28,310
And then he took
a piece of damp leaf
458
00:33:28,310 --> 00:33:33,270
and was shining the branch that
the female would first come into
459
00:33:33,270 --> 00:33:34,990
to judge his display.
460
00:33:37,230 --> 00:33:41,790
It was as if the male was directing
her to a specific vantage point.
461
00:33:41,790 --> 00:33:45,790
Once he had polished the branch
to his satisfaction,
462
00:33:45,790 --> 00:33:47,390
he began his display.
463
00:33:55,630 --> 00:33:59,030
He had a little bow tie almost
of iridescent feathers,
464
00:33:59,030 --> 00:34:03,670
but rather like a comedy bow tie,
this thing would flick up and down
465
00:34:03,670 --> 00:34:05,670
while he was displaying.
466
00:34:05,670 --> 00:34:10,150
Now, we thought, "That's making
a nice flash at ground level."
467
00:34:10,150 --> 00:34:13,510
We should have suspected
that there was more to it.
468
00:34:15,630 --> 00:34:18,870
In fact, he was looking at
and filming the bird
469
00:34:18,870 --> 00:34:20,870
from the wrong angle.
470
00:34:20,870 --> 00:34:24,150
It took another film crew
to reveal why.
471
00:34:27,590 --> 00:34:30,870
An American team
decided to try and film
472
00:34:30,870 --> 00:34:35,350
every single one of the 39
known species of birds of paradise.
473
00:34:40,990 --> 00:34:46,110
Edwin Scholes and Tim Laman from the
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
474
00:34:46,110 --> 00:34:48,990
spent ten years
crisscrossing New Guinea
475
00:34:48,990 --> 00:34:50,550
in search of these birds.
476
00:34:55,630 --> 00:35:01,430
There are four species of parotia
and in one, Wahnes's parotia,
477
00:35:01,430 --> 00:35:03,350
they discovered something new.
478
00:35:06,790 --> 00:35:11,070
They placed the camera above
the arena of a displaying male,
479
00:35:11,070 --> 00:35:15,150
and so observed his dance
from a female's point of view.
480
00:35:17,390 --> 00:35:21,150
And it showed two details
of the male's performance
481
00:35:21,150 --> 00:35:23,390
that can only be seen from above.
482
00:35:26,550 --> 00:35:29,550
The pennants on his head,
seen this way,
483
00:35:29,550 --> 00:35:32,630
form a vibrating arc
around his skirt.
484
00:35:35,630 --> 00:35:40,150
Then, iridescent lights appear to
flash across the top of his head,
485
00:35:40,150 --> 00:35:42,990
something you just can't see
from the side.
486
00:35:49,670 --> 00:35:52,510
And the bow tie
of iridescent feathers
487
00:35:52,510 --> 00:35:54,750
has very much more impact
from above.
488
00:36:03,910 --> 00:36:08,270
It is now known how the parotia
breast shield changes colour.
489
00:36:08,270 --> 00:36:13,270
The feathers are arranged
so they overlap like scales,
490
00:36:13,270 --> 00:36:16,070
and each feather has side filaments,
491
00:36:16,070 --> 00:36:19,950
each of which has
three different reflectors -
492
00:36:19,950 --> 00:36:25,230
one that reflects an orange-yellow
colour and two that reflect blue.
493
00:36:25,230 --> 00:36:28,670
And these reflectors
are at an angle to one another,
494
00:36:28,670 --> 00:36:30,710
so as the bird moves,
495
00:36:30,710 --> 00:36:34,070
the breast shield appears to
change colour, like this.
496
00:36:38,630 --> 00:36:42,110
And the parotia family
held yet more secrets,
497
00:36:42,110 --> 00:36:46,750
as Ed Scholes and Tim Laman revealed
when they visited me in Bristol.
498
00:36:46,750 --> 00:36:49,830
Nice to meet you! Where are we going
to sit? Right here. OK.
499
00:36:51,110 --> 00:36:54,270
I can't wait to see this stuff.
500
00:36:54,270 --> 00:36:56,510
They had filmed
the courtship display
501
00:36:56,510 --> 00:37:00,390
of the Queen Carola's parotia,
that I had never seen before.
502
00:37:00,390 --> 00:37:04,550
Oh! I can immediately see it's
different, with those white flanks.
503
00:37:06,350 --> 00:37:08,270
There's a female there...
504
00:37:08,270 --> 00:37:10,510
Oh, yeah. She's much lighter.
505
00:37:10,510 --> 00:37:13,990
There's another at the back.
Oh, yes. Three females now.
506
00:37:15,350 --> 00:37:20,270
Four! They keep coming. Look at
that, look at how intense they are.
507
00:37:20,270 --> 00:37:23,150
Ah! It's starting.
See this figure of eight,
508
00:37:23,150 --> 00:37:25,990
where he's bouncing back
and forth fluttering his wings.
509
00:37:25,990 --> 00:37:28,910
If you were to trace the feathers
on the back of his head,
510
00:37:28,910 --> 00:37:31,830
and slow it down, it would make
a perfect figure of eight.
511
00:37:31,830 --> 00:37:35,070
And they're always perched
above the display?
512
00:37:35,070 --> 00:37:38,270
That's right. It's a really
important part of the court.
513
00:37:38,270 --> 00:37:39,990
The male selects that spot
514
00:37:39,990 --> 00:37:43,630
because it has that perch
for his audience to watch from.
515
00:37:43,630 --> 00:37:46,670
And the audience really knows
where the best place is.
516
00:37:46,670 --> 00:37:49,310
The dance is facing upwards.
517
00:37:49,310 --> 00:37:53,790
Here he is, see this hop and shake.
Hop and shake.
518
00:37:53,790 --> 00:37:57,350
He's transformed himself into
this ballerina-like skirt shape.
519
00:37:57,350 --> 00:38:01,310
He's positioning himself until he
gets right underneath the female.
520
00:38:01,310 --> 00:38:03,230
He goes into that dramatic pause.
521
00:38:03,230 --> 00:38:05,990
All the females are
leaning over, looking at him.
522
00:38:05,990 --> 00:38:09,230
And as soon as he starts moving,
they kind of relax and move as well.
523
00:38:09,230 --> 00:38:11,030
THEY LAUGH
524
00:38:12,070 --> 00:38:13,710
Go for it, boy.
525
00:38:15,750 --> 00:38:19,470
He eventually mated
with all six of those females.
526
00:38:19,470 --> 00:38:22,870
This was the most successful
individual bird of paradise
527
00:38:22,870 --> 00:38:26,030
that we ever saw - this male
was the king of them all.
528
00:38:27,710 --> 00:38:30,030
This pause is terrific, isn't it?
529
00:38:31,270 --> 00:38:32,390
"Come on, girls."
530
00:38:33,710 --> 00:38:35,030
"This is it!"
531
00:38:41,630 --> 00:38:48,670
By 2011, Tim and Ed, after 18
separate expeditions to New Guinea,
532
00:38:48,670 --> 00:38:50,670
had succeeded in filming
533
00:38:50,670 --> 00:38:54,110
every known species of
bird of paradise in the wild.
534
00:39:00,230 --> 00:39:03,430
We have come a long way
from those first attempts
535
00:39:03,430 --> 00:39:05,070
to make drawings of the birds,
536
00:39:05,070 --> 00:39:08,990
which had to be based on no more
than their shrivelled skins.
537
00:39:10,990 --> 00:39:15,870
Then came paintings,
and finally film of them -
538
00:39:15,870 --> 00:39:17,590
eventually in colour.
539
00:39:19,510 --> 00:39:21,950
But, of course,
in the mid-19th century,
540
00:39:21,950 --> 00:39:24,190
the only way to see a living bird
541
00:39:24,190 --> 00:39:26,990
was to travel 8,000 miles
to New Guinea,
542
00:39:26,990 --> 00:39:30,670
because no-one had managed to
bring one back to Europe alive.
543
00:39:34,350 --> 00:39:38,390
It was Alfred Russel Wallace
who once again was the pioneer.
544
00:39:38,390 --> 00:39:42,390
In 1862, he succeeded
in bringing back to England
545
00:39:42,390 --> 00:39:44,230
two living birds of paradise.
546
00:39:45,710 --> 00:39:49,990
The Zoological Society of London,
the London Zoo, gave him �300.
547
00:39:51,110 --> 00:39:55,670
An astonishing figure -
worth about �30,000 today.
548
00:39:55,670 --> 00:39:58,510
They were the first
birds of paradise
549
00:39:58,510 --> 00:40:01,790
to be put on display here, and they
were soon the talk of the town.
550
00:40:07,870 --> 00:40:12,750
In 1957, I set off for New Guinea,
not only to film the birds,
551
00:40:12,750 --> 00:40:16,670
but, on behalf of the London Zoo,
to try and bring some back alive.
552
00:40:23,070 --> 00:40:26,510
Although we managed to film
the Count Raggi's bird,
553
00:40:26,510 --> 00:40:28,590
I wasn't able to catch any.
554
00:40:28,590 --> 00:40:31,710
But then I met a great naturalist
and explorer
555
00:40:31,710 --> 00:40:33,870
who had settled in the Wahgi Valley,
556
00:40:33,870 --> 00:40:37,830
and had built aviaries in which
he kept many of the species.
557
00:40:37,830 --> 00:40:39,550
His name was Fred Shaw Mayer.
558
00:40:42,390 --> 00:40:44,630
I found Fred with Bob, his hornbill.
559
00:40:44,630 --> 00:40:47,270
Fred has been collecting animals
all his life,
560
00:40:47,270 --> 00:40:50,510
and in New Guinea alone, he's
discovered five birds new to science
561
00:40:50,510 --> 00:40:53,550
including one bird of paradise.
562
00:40:53,550 --> 00:40:58,430
Fred gave me 13 birds of paradise
of ten different species.
563
00:41:03,070 --> 00:41:07,430
I set out with them on the five-week
journey back to London.
564
00:41:11,350 --> 00:41:16,150
And they ended up here in the
old Bird House in the London Zoo.
565
00:41:34,110 --> 00:41:35,790
It was quite a difficult journey.
566
00:41:35,790 --> 00:41:40,310
We had to charter a little plane to
take us to the island port of Rabaul
567
00:41:40,310 --> 00:41:46,030
off the eastern end of New Guinea,
and there we found an old cargo ship
568
00:41:46,030 --> 00:41:49,830
that ploughed its way across
the South China Sea to Hong Kong.
569
00:41:49,830 --> 00:41:53,870
Every day, of course,
they had to be fed and cleaned,
570
00:41:53,870 --> 00:41:57,950
and we had plenty of fruit,
but we discovered, as Wallace had,
571
00:41:57,950 --> 00:42:01,630
that what the birds really loved
was cockroaches.
572
00:42:01,630 --> 00:42:04,870
And there were plenty of those
to be found in the ship's kitchens.
573
00:42:06,910 --> 00:42:10,950
Then, from Hong Kong, we got
a freight plane back to London.
574
00:42:13,550 --> 00:42:17,230
This big aviary here contains
several of the birds of paradise
575
00:42:17,230 --> 00:42:19,470
which we brought back.
576
00:42:19,470 --> 00:42:21,070
That big one on the left
577
00:42:21,070 --> 00:42:24,310
is the Princess Stephanie's
bird of paradise,
578
00:42:24,310 --> 00:42:26,870
one of the largest
of the birds of paradise.
579
00:42:29,630 --> 00:42:33,270
And here's one of the smallest -
the King bird of paradise,
580
00:42:33,270 --> 00:42:35,710
which is only a little larger
than a robin.
581
00:42:35,710 --> 00:42:37,350
It's a wonderful little bird.
582
00:42:41,230 --> 00:42:45,310
Birds of paradise haven't been seen
here in London Zoo since 1973.
583
00:42:45,310 --> 00:42:47,750
But that's because it's now illegal
584
00:42:47,750 --> 00:42:50,710
to export the living birds
from New Guinea.
585
00:42:50,710 --> 00:42:54,110
Nonetheless, there are just
a very few places in the world
586
00:42:54,110 --> 00:42:56,630
where captive bred ones can be seen.
587
00:43:05,070 --> 00:43:07,310
I'm heading for one of them -
588
00:43:07,310 --> 00:43:10,470
an unlikely location
in the Middle East.
589
00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:18,790
Thousand of miles away from the
birds of paradise's natural home.
590
00:43:21,870 --> 00:43:24,990
A sanctuary has been built
especially for them
591
00:43:24,990 --> 00:43:28,390
by a 21st-century royal collector,
592
00:43:28,390 --> 00:43:31,910
Sheikh Saoud Bin Mohammed
Bin Ali Al-Thani.
593
00:43:49,470 --> 00:43:52,510
Here, in the middle
of the desert of Qatar,
594
00:43:52,510 --> 00:43:56,590
a breeding centre
has been created for rare birds
595
00:43:56,590 --> 00:43:59,190
and animals from all over the world.
596
00:44:01,350 --> 00:44:06,070
The Sheikh has built Al Wabra, a
state-of-the-art breeding facility.
597
00:44:09,150 --> 00:44:10,910
There we are.
598
00:44:10,910 --> 00:44:12,510
What about that?
599
00:44:12,510 --> 00:44:18,510
Here at Al Wabra they are experts
at caring for exotic birds,
600
00:44:18,510 --> 00:44:21,550
like these wonderful
Hyacinth Macaws,
601
00:44:21,550 --> 00:44:27,390
the largest of all flying parrots
and very, very beautiful.
602
00:44:34,150 --> 00:44:39,030
They also maintain the largest
captive breeding group in the world
603
00:44:39,030 --> 00:44:42,470
of birds of paradise,
with over 90 birds.
604
00:44:46,870 --> 00:44:49,030
They get the best possible care,
605
00:44:49,030 --> 00:44:52,430
with particular attention
being paid to their nutrition.
606
00:44:57,430 --> 00:45:01,230
They consume 160 kilos
of papaya a week.
607
00:45:04,590 --> 00:45:07,670
And their favourite insect food
is mealworms.
608
00:45:12,710 --> 00:45:14,550
Twice a day, freshly made,
609
00:45:14,550 --> 00:45:17,950
the meals are delivered to each
of the 90 birds individually.
610
00:45:22,070 --> 00:45:25,750
Curator Simon Mathews
is in charge of the birds,
611
00:45:25,750 --> 00:45:28,830
and his aim is
to understand them better,
612
00:45:28,830 --> 00:45:31,830
and to improve their breeding
success still further.
613
00:45:33,470 --> 00:45:35,790
Because the eggs are so valuable,
614
00:45:35,790 --> 00:45:40,150
Simon removes them from the nests
to incubate them artificially.
615
00:45:45,030 --> 00:45:49,230
This is a very special
and precious chick.
616
00:45:49,230 --> 00:45:52,030
It's a young
greater bird of paradise,
617
00:45:52,030 --> 00:45:56,070
and one of the very, very few
that have been reared in captivity.
618
00:45:56,070 --> 00:46:00,670
And Simon is now giving it
one of its regular feeds.
619
00:46:03,910 --> 00:46:08,390
He has to feed it every two hours,
up to nine times a day
620
00:46:08,390 --> 00:46:10,430
for nearly 20 days.
621
00:46:11,870 --> 00:46:14,270
He whistles
to attract its attention.
622
00:46:16,430 --> 00:46:19,590
It's kept in an incubator
for three weeks.
623
00:46:23,230 --> 00:46:27,150
But the most difficult part of
the breeding process in captivity
624
00:46:27,150 --> 00:46:30,550
is getting the birds to mate
without injuring one another.
625
00:46:32,430 --> 00:46:37,670
In the wild, male plumed birds
form leks, as in Wallace's picture,
626
00:46:37,670 --> 00:46:41,830
where many males gather to show off
their plumes to visiting females.
627
00:46:44,550 --> 00:46:48,750
The female then chooses the male
she admires the most...
628
00:46:52,070 --> 00:46:55,310
..mates with him,
but then quickly leaves,
629
00:46:55,310 --> 00:46:58,990
avoiding the aggression that
the males often show during mating.
630
00:47:00,390 --> 00:47:02,390
The difficulty for Simon
631
00:47:02,390 --> 00:47:06,190
is to ensure that the birds
behave in the same way in captivity.
632
00:47:06,190 --> 00:47:08,110
To protect the females,
633
00:47:08,110 --> 00:47:12,070
he keeps the sexes separately
and in alternate cages.
634
00:47:12,070 --> 00:47:13,590
He watches a female
635
00:47:13,590 --> 00:47:17,550
to see which side of her enclosure
she spends most of her time,
636
00:47:17,550 --> 00:47:21,030
which suggests to him which
of the two males she prefers.
637
00:47:23,950 --> 00:47:28,230
Once she appears to have made
her choice, he opens a hatch.
638
00:47:28,230 --> 00:47:32,910
And then she flies in to briefly
visit her chosen partner.
639
00:47:35,150 --> 00:47:39,030
Although courtship has been
well documented in the wild,
640
00:47:39,030 --> 00:47:41,870
few people have ever witnessed
the birds nesting.
641
00:47:45,790 --> 00:47:49,950
This is something
I have never ever seen before.
642
00:47:49,950 --> 00:47:53,830
I have been so fascinated
by the beauty, drama and glamour
643
00:47:53,830 --> 00:47:57,470
of the males with their splendid
plumage and dances,
644
00:47:57,470 --> 00:48:00,710
I have never spent time
looking for the nest of the female.
645
00:48:00,710 --> 00:48:04,790
And it's very unobtrusive,
and very ordinary-looking.
646
00:48:04,790 --> 00:48:07,950
It looks as though it might even
have been made by a blackbird.
647
00:48:07,950 --> 00:48:10,590
She makes it entirely by herself,
648
00:48:10,590 --> 00:48:14,350
and in it,
she lays her one single egg,
649
00:48:14,350 --> 00:48:16,470
which she will rear
entirely by herself.
650
00:48:18,550 --> 00:48:21,950
Most other species of birds
work together as pairs,
651
00:48:21,950 --> 00:48:25,510
not only to make a nest, but
to collect all the food needed
652
00:48:25,510 --> 00:48:26,950
to rear their young.
653
00:48:28,990 --> 00:48:31,510
And that difference
is important in understanding
654
00:48:31,510 --> 00:48:34,470
why birds of paradise
behave in the way they do.
655
00:48:36,910 --> 00:48:40,550
It's the fact that the female
takes on the laborious business
656
00:48:40,550 --> 00:48:44,310
of caring for the young by herself
that is the clue
657
00:48:44,310 --> 00:48:47,510
as to why the males have evolved
such extravagant plumes.
658
00:48:51,590 --> 00:48:54,870
Over the years,
many naturalists have puzzled
659
00:48:54,870 --> 00:48:57,310
over these fantastic plumes.
660
00:48:57,310 --> 00:49:00,230
Why should this one family of birds
661
00:49:00,230 --> 00:49:03,910
have taken feathered ornaments
to such extreme lengths?
662
00:49:03,910 --> 00:49:06,590
And surely,
having plumes like this
663
00:49:06,590 --> 00:49:09,070
must make it more difficult to fly,
664
00:49:09,070 --> 00:49:12,430
and therefore make a bird
more vulnerable to predators?
665
00:49:12,430 --> 00:49:15,470
That certainly mystified Wallace.
666
00:49:15,470 --> 00:49:17,910
He described the males' displays
667
00:49:17,910 --> 00:49:21,590
as being nothing more than
"playing" or "dancing".
668
00:49:23,230 --> 00:49:26,870
But their real purpose
is much more important than that.
669
00:49:32,110 --> 00:49:36,470
This is a female
King bird of paradise,
670
00:49:36,470 --> 00:49:39,030
and you can see she is very drab.
671
00:49:39,030 --> 00:49:42,510
Nothing like the glorious male.
672
00:49:45,750 --> 00:49:51,630
And it was Charles Darwin
who understood the important part
673
00:49:51,630 --> 00:49:55,510
that she plays in the evolution
of birds of paradise,
674
00:49:55,510 --> 00:50:00,390
because it's she who selects a male
675
00:50:00,390 --> 00:50:03,430
for the beauty of his plumage
676
00:50:03,430 --> 00:50:08,030
and that,
over many, many generations,
677
00:50:08,030 --> 00:50:11,030
has led to the glories of the male.
678
00:50:12,950 --> 00:50:16,830
Darwin called the process
in which a female chooses a mate
679
00:50:16,830 --> 00:50:20,670
based on his physical appearance
"sexual selection".
680
00:50:20,670 --> 00:50:23,590
And the great variety
of male ornaments has evolved
681
00:50:23,590 --> 00:50:27,630
simply because the females of a
species have developed a preference
682
00:50:27,630 --> 00:50:30,270
for a particular kind of plume
or colour.
683
00:50:32,350 --> 00:50:35,830
This trait, then,
over many generations,
684
00:50:35,830 --> 00:50:38,550
becomes more and more exaggerated
685
00:50:38,550 --> 00:50:42,830
until eventually it can reach
almost absurd extremes.
686
00:50:45,670 --> 00:50:49,830
The two magnificent
long, white tail feathers
687
00:50:49,830 --> 00:50:53,190
of the ribbon-tailed
bird of paradise
688
00:50:53,190 --> 00:50:56,630
evolved because
the female ribbon-tails
689
00:50:56,630 --> 00:50:59,830
happen to like
long, white tail feathers.
690
00:51:03,510 --> 00:51:07,310
They are four or five times
the length of the bird's body,
691
00:51:07,310 --> 00:51:12,070
the longest tail feathers, in
proportion to its body, of any bird.
692
00:51:14,270 --> 00:51:19,390
The remarkable thing is that
all these plumes, pennants and capes
693
00:51:19,390 --> 00:51:22,230
have evolved from simple feathers.
694
00:51:22,230 --> 00:51:26,110
Of course, they no longer serve
the original function of feathers,
695
00:51:26,110 --> 00:51:29,310
to keep a bird warm,
or to help it fly.
696
00:51:29,310 --> 00:51:33,190
Indeed, if anything,
they are an impediment to flight.
697
00:51:33,190 --> 00:51:36,270
Their only purpose
is to impress the females.
698
00:51:44,590 --> 00:51:48,510
And it is not only birds
that find such plumes irresistible.
699
00:52:03,790 --> 00:52:06,790
The people of New Guinea
have always been well aware
700
00:52:06,790 --> 00:52:10,430
of the biological purpose
of these extravagant ornaments.
701
00:52:10,430 --> 00:52:14,230
And when a tribesman puts on
gorgeous plumes and feathers
702
00:52:14,230 --> 00:52:15,870
and displays them in dances,
703
00:52:15,870 --> 00:52:18,510
he is using them
for the same purpose -
704
00:52:18,510 --> 00:52:23,150
to display his desirability
so a lady might select him.
705
00:52:23,150 --> 00:52:25,190
DRUMMING
706
00:52:31,910 --> 00:52:33,950
To prepare the skins and plumes,
707
00:52:33,950 --> 00:52:38,190
New Guinea men still carefully
remove the fleshy legs and wings
708
00:52:38,190 --> 00:52:41,270
to reduce the likelihood
of insect attack,
709
00:52:41,270 --> 00:52:43,270
and to better display the plumes.
710
00:52:46,070 --> 00:52:49,590
So the reason it was believed
the birds had no legs
711
00:52:49,590 --> 00:52:53,990
was because they had been removed
before the skins left New Guinea.
712
00:53:06,910 --> 00:53:09,550
But why has this particular
family of birds
713
00:53:09,550 --> 00:53:13,550
been able to take their ornaments
and displays to such great extremes?
714
00:53:21,870 --> 00:53:26,350
The answer lies in the nature
of New Guinea itself.
715
00:53:26,350 --> 00:53:28,590
The island is a relatively new one,
716
00:53:28,590 --> 00:53:31,030
having been pushed up
from the bottom of the sea
717
00:53:31,030 --> 00:53:35,630
a mere ten million years ago -
recently in geological time.
718
00:53:35,630 --> 00:53:39,350
So few land-living mammals
have managed to colonise it,
719
00:53:39,350 --> 00:53:41,790
and most of those
are harmless to birds.
720
00:53:43,190 --> 00:53:47,190
Echidnas,
that live largely on worms,
721
00:53:47,190 --> 00:53:49,310
and a kind of kangaroo
722
00:53:49,310 --> 00:53:53,750
that bizarrely clambers around
in trees, eating leaves.
723
00:53:59,470 --> 00:54:03,310
What's more, the lush,
wet rainforests are rich
724
00:54:03,310 --> 00:54:05,630
all the year round in sugary fruits.
725
00:54:08,390 --> 00:54:11,550
And crucially, because the birds
enjoy such a plentiful
726
00:54:11,550 --> 00:54:13,670
and energy-rich food supply,
727
00:54:13,670 --> 00:54:17,830
a female is able to raise her chick
entirely by herself.
728
00:54:22,590 --> 00:54:25,870
And that frees the males to spend
a lot of time and energy
729
00:54:25,870 --> 00:54:29,710
producing extravagant adornments
and spectacular displays.
730
00:54:32,190 --> 00:54:36,110
So, fruit, that plays
such a significant role
731
00:54:36,110 --> 00:54:38,230
in the Biblical view of paradise,
732
00:54:38,230 --> 00:54:41,710
has also created a paradise
for these birds.
733
00:54:43,430 --> 00:54:45,870
Perhaps the name is apt after all.
734
00:54:48,390 --> 00:54:52,670
It's now known that the complexity
of a bird-of-paradise display
735
00:54:52,670 --> 00:54:54,990
does not come entirely naturally,
736
00:54:54,990 --> 00:54:59,870
as Ed Scholes has recently observed
in young male riflebirds.
737
00:54:59,870 --> 00:55:03,870
They start spending more and more
time practising their displays.
738
00:55:03,870 --> 00:55:07,310
Riflebirds are using their wings,
moving them back and forth,
739
00:55:07,310 --> 00:55:09,950
creating this interesting shape.
740
00:55:15,030 --> 00:55:18,270
Taking a turn at being the male
doing the practices,
741
00:55:18,270 --> 00:55:21,110
and the other one
is taking the role of the female.
742
00:55:21,110 --> 00:55:22,430
Then they alternate.
743
00:55:22,430 --> 00:55:25,550
And sometimes they're going on
like this for hours,
744
00:55:25,550 --> 00:55:27,390
and getting very carried away.
745
00:55:28,950 --> 00:55:33,110
But when an adult male turns up,
he sends them on their way.
746
00:55:35,950 --> 00:55:40,190
And it's not only riflebirds
that have to learn to dance.
747
00:55:40,190 --> 00:55:44,070
Young male parotias
start visiting display courts
748
00:55:44,070 --> 00:55:45,670
when they're three years old,
749
00:55:45,670 --> 00:55:49,110
before they develop
the black plumage of the adult.
750
00:55:49,110 --> 00:55:52,390
And they use this time
to practise their dance moves.
751
00:56:02,710 --> 00:56:04,950
It will be several more years
752
00:56:04,950 --> 00:56:08,590
before this one will be
taken seriously by a female.
753
00:56:08,590 --> 00:56:12,310
It makes them look like a teenager,
kind of strutting his stuff
754
00:56:12,310 --> 00:56:15,630
in front of the mirror when he's
not quite fully developed yet.
755
00:56:27,270 --> 00:56:28,750
For five centuries,
756
00:56:28,750 --> 00:56:32,590
birds of paradise have fascinated
explorers and naturalists,
757
00:56:32,590 --> 00:56:34,230
artists and collectors.
758
00:56:37,470 --> 00:56:42,150
So it was a very special moment
for me to get so close when,
759
00:56:42,150 --> 00:56:43,790
because he had been hand-reared,
760
00:56:43,790 --> 00:56:47,390
this male bird-of-paradise
actually began to court me.
761
00:56:51,470 --> 00:56:56,550
This surely is one of the great
wonders of the natural world,
762
00:56:56,550 --> 00:57:02,470
just as Magellan's sailors
said it was 500 years ago -
763
00:57:02,470 --> 00:57:06,630
even though, in fact,
the bird does have legs.
764
00:57:09,590 --> 00:57:12,710
The displays
of the birds of paradise
765
00:57:12,710 --> 00:57:17,110
have at last been recorded,
both on canvas and on screen,
766
00:57:17,110 --> 00:57:20,750
in all their exquisite detail
and complexity.
767
00:57:27,910 --> 00:57:30,470
Now, at last, we understand
768
00:57:30,470 --> 00:57:33,710
that it is the rich character
of their island home
769
00:57:33,710 --> 00:57:37,470
that has allowed the birds to evolve
in the ways that they have.
770
00:57:42,670 --> 00:57:45,030
And it's the female's preference
771
00:57:45,030 --> 00:57:47,990
for particular patterns,
colours and displays
772
00:57:47,990 --> 00:57:51,430
that have led to
the males' astounding finery,
773
00:57:51,430 --> 00:57:53,030
making them, surely,
774
00:57:53,030 --> 00:57:57,150
among the most stunning
and glamorous birds on Earth.
775
00:58:39,390 --> 00:58:41,910
Millions of us watch clips of animals
776
00:58:41,910 --> 00:58:42,310
showing what looks like
friendship, affection
67097
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