"It has been said that the island of New Guinea" ""contains more strange and beautiful natural objects than any other part of the world" ..." "There are certainly few signs more strange or beautiful than the Birds Paradise." "The males' courtship dances are among the most bizarre and flamboyant displays seen in the animal kingdom." "Birds From The Gods" "The rain forests of New Guinea, where these extraordinary birds live,are dense and impenetrable." "They could not contrast more with the temperate forests of" "Hokkaido in Japan, which are leafless and stark in winter." "Tadashi Shimada, a Japanese wildlife filmmaker, is planning the journey of a life time." "Tadashi' s passion is birds." "Over the year he has filmed many species across the globe, including the exquisite Azure" "Kingfisher as it dives and catches fish in an Australian stream." "Astonishingly, it seizes the fish with its eyes closed." "He has also succeeded in filming other species, such as Paradise Kingfishers in the rainforests of Australia, as they swoop down to catch insects and lizards." "It took him many months to film the Kingfishers as they tried to keep pace with their chicks' growing appetites." ""l have been filming kingfishers across the globe for over thirty years." "They are special birds for me" ." ""l believe the moment when an animal catches its prey is the time when it is at its most wild"" "But now there are other challenges ahead." "For Tadashi, the rainforest of New Guinea contain the ultimate film-maker' s dream" "The Birds of Paradise." "This quest has taken him two years." "But Tadashi is a relative newcomer on the scene." "Europeans first encountered these beautiful birds in the early 16th century" "the native people of New Guinea have live closed to, and revered these birds for thousands of years." "Even now, local people perform ritual dances, called " sing- sing"" "using the magnificent plumage of many species of The Birds of Paradise as the crowing glory in their elaborate costumes." "These head- dresses have been handed down from one generation to the next." "They are carefully reserved in sealed bamboo tubes in the smoky rafters of the house, to protect them from insects, and damp." "The local people used to catch the birds by finding their display grounds and setting a snare of forest twine,or waiting in a hide, with bow and arrow at the ready...." "These ancient headdresses were used as a sign of wealth or status." "ln order to marry, a man had to give plums from" "The Birds of Paradise to buy his bride." "The beautiful green breast shield from the Superb Bird of Paradise is highly prized." "This is the first bird Tadashi plans to film." "The males don' t acquire their full adult plumage until they are four years old." "This dance is inspired by the courtship display of the Superb Bird of Paradise- but nothing can match the real thing." "The Superb Bird of Paradise performs its courtship dance in the trees." "Tadashi has heard of these elaborate rituals- but he has yet to see them in the wild." "According to local people, the Superb Bird of Paradise often visits a particular group of fruit trees after dawn." "Soon after Tadashi arrives, a male starts feeding high in the canopy." "Birds of Paradise mostly eat fruit, leaves, flowers and insects, though they will sometimes eat frogs or even lizards." "Many rainforest plants reply on the Birds of Paradise to disperse their seeds." "The trees where the birds display are used year after year, and are usually some distance away from the fruit trees where they feed." "It took three days for Tadashi to track down the Superb Bird fof Paradise's dancing stage twenty meters up in the canopy of a "dancing tree"." "Most dancing trees are within sight of another male's territory." "ln order to get closer, and avoid filming against the light," "Tadashi will have to build a platform high in a nearby tree." "But here, nothing is simple." "Much of the rainforest is divided up and owned by local villagers, and Tadashi knows that before he can build a platform to film the birds, he will have to gain the permission from the local Village Chief." "These villagers guard their rainforests and take care that the birds' precious dancing grounds are preserved." "Before granting permission they need to be convinced that the team will do nothing to disturb the birds or damage the dance site, which may be used by the same birds over many years." "Knowledge of the whereabouts of different dance arenas used to be jealously guarded by different clans or individuals," "who passed it on from one generation to the next." "Tadashi has also asked the villagers to help him build the tower." "While Tadashi and his team use nails, the villagers use fibres from the forest to bind the structure together." "These string fibres come from a wild plant called " rattan" , which holds timbers tightly and doesn' t loosen." "The first time the ladder was built using nails, it collapsed without warning." "The rattan proved to be a much stronger, which is why local people still use it for building their own houses." "When the platform is finished it' s ten meters high, and only fifteen meters away from the dancing stage in a nearby tree." "The male Superb Bird of Paradise visits the dancing stage every morning and evening," "but he will only display if a female is nearby." "Tadashi is also ready and waiting." "The moment arrives- his first sighting of a Superb Bird of Paradise displaying in the wild." "It erects an immense cape with plums 130mm long covering its back like an umbrella." "The adult female is very different - mostly drab brown and black." "This is the only time male and female path cross." "Once the male has achieved a high status, he will then try to mate with as many females as possible." "He repeatedly flashes his breast shield and flicks his cape over his head,fluttering his wings to produce a clicking sound." "Surely any female will be impressed by a display as a dramatic and exotic as this!" "Now it is easy to understand why the people of New Guinea have been so inspired by the birds which share their forests." "Another Bird of Paradise can be found living much closer to people." "Only five minutes away from the nearest cottage" "Tadashi comes across the dancing stage of the Bird of Paradise on the edge of the forest, close to open fields." "Unlike the Superb Bird of Paradise, this time the stage is on the ground." "The male has removed every leaf and scrap of debris from the bare earth, leaving an arena about two meters square where he will perform as soon as a female approaches." "Local people believe that this bird has magical powers." ""The bird coming here can heal our diseases" ." ""You should rub your diseased part with the leaf of a fern" ." "Then you should throw it into the arena.When the male arrives he will immediately remove it from the stage, and your disease will be healed" ." "Early the next morning a black bird arrives at the arena." "This is the owner of the stage, a male Lawes's Parotia." "The iridescent shield on his chest is in stark contrast to the rest of the bird' s dark plumage." "A tuft of three long wire-shafted plums emerges from behind each eye." "It doesn' t take him long to notice the leaves which the villagers threw onto the ground." "He begins to flick each leaf away with a sharp twist of his beak, until the stage is spotless." "Occasionally males have been known to decorate the arena with pieces of animal dung, feathers, or bone." "At last he is satisfied." "Now all that remains is for the team to wait for a female to arrive." "If the Superb Bird of Paradise's display seemed unusual, this one promises to be even more bizarre." "This thrush- sized bird extends plums on his flanks until they form a crinoline skirt as he hops about the stage." "The male comes to the dancing stage twice a day soon after sunrise and just before sunset." "Early every morning, Tadashi waits in the hide." "Like the male, he is waiting for a female bird to arrive." "After spending two weeks sitting in the hide," "Tadashi is finally rewarded- the male' s behavior suddenly changes- there' s a newcomer on the scene." "The drab female is far less beguiling than her mate." "She perches on a branch overlooking the arena, to get a grandstand view." "At last he begins to dance, spreading long velvety feathers on his back and raising them like a stiff skirt,he moves in slow short hops, moving his head rapidly from side to side." "There are no mammalian predators in New Guinea, and this has allowed the evolution of such a unique courtship display on the ground where normally a bird would be completely vulnerable- particularly when it is so distracted!" "Hoping that his amorous courtship has impressed his audience, he flies up onto the branch to join her- but his display obviously wasn' t quite up to standard." "Many male Birds of Paradise are polygamous, and will mate with as many females as possible." "He continues to dance hoping to attract another female." "It' s believed that most Birds of Paradise originated in New Guinea, though a few species have spread to" "Australia  the Moluccan lslands of Indonesia." "There are as many as 36 species which are found nowhere else on earth." "Each is adapted to a particular part of the rainforest." "The mountains are home to the Brown Sicklebill. lt' s long curved bill is used to probe insects from beneath the bark of trees." "The Ribbon-tailed Bird of Paradise also lives high in the mountains." "lts range is so limited that it was only discovered and named recently." "The male has a long white tail- over a meter long." "The Blue Bird of Paradise is extremely rare as the forests where it lives have been threatened by slash and burn farming." "It' s wings are the most astonishing opalescent blue." "When it displays, it hangs upside down from a branch, and its plumes from a brilliant inverted triangle." "The Twelve- wired Bird of Paradise prefers lowland forests near the sea,and swampy areas along the edges of rivers." "It was only recently discovered that it flicks its long plumes in the face of the female as part of the courtship display." "ln order to film the King of Saxony Bird of Paradise," "Tadashi had to climb up into the high Cloud forest." "The male performs on a tightrope of forest vines." "There is a long queue of immature males waiting to occupy these traditional dance arenas, so it means that only the fittest are able to maintain their place in the breeding community." "The long plumes were once highly prized by local tribes living in the highlands of New Guinea who used to wear one feather through each nostril." "It' s only because the local people of New Guinea respected the strange birds that share their forests, that these birds survive today." "These headdresses are made from the feathers of the Greater Bird of Parsdise." "The real thing is even more beautiful." "Greater Bird of Parsdise males congregate together to display in an arena called a lek." "These display grounds are carefully defined, and tightly guarded by several males." "The best time for Tadashi to film this remarkable display is soon after sunrise." "Surprisingly, it isn' t only the same species who share a lek." "Tadashi has heard that the Red- plumed Reggiana Bird of Parsdise often displays alongside the Greater Bird of Parsdise." "Tadashi is determined to film this extraordinary spectacle and makes sure every thing is in place well before first light." "The question is, do the males and females of each species interbreed?" "When the birds arrive tomorrow morning, perhaps Tadashi will have an answer." "Tadashi is amazed to find that indeed both the Reggiana Bird of Parsdise with is Gorgeous red plums and the golden plumed Greater Bird of Parsdise are displaying on the same branch." "ln the past the Aru Islanders killed the adult males for their valuable feathers and plumes, but they protected the dance trees where the males congregate." "Many of these trees have been in use for generations." "Because the Aru Islanders cut the feet off the skins of these birds when they were first exported to Europe, a myth sprang up that these birds were footless extraterrestrial wanderers, perhaps from Paradise which is why the Greater Bird of Paradise" "was given the latin name Paradisaea apoda, the footless bird of Paradise." "The male approaches the female and wraps his wings around her." "Then he taps her on the back of the head with his be." "If she doesn' t fly away at this stage and she has accepted him." "At last, a male succeeds in wooing his mate." "Though the Greater and Reggiana are two different species, both Birds of Paradise are very close genetically, so it' s possible that hybrids may result from a mating between the two." "ln the 16th century the birds' feathers were more precious than gold and by the start of the 20th century many Europeans hunted Birds from the Gods with shotguns, in order to export their plumes and iridescent feathers back to Europe." "ln one year almost 30,000 birds were exported." "This trade finally came to an end in the 1920' s." "Tadashi may be the first person to film one of the hybrids- sporting a trail of gorgeous orange plumes." "It' s hard to believe that these flamboyant birds are closely related to crows." "Spurred on by this success, Tadashi' s next goal will prove to be even harder." "This is the southern slope of the range of mountains lying at the heart of New Guinea. lt' s one of the wettest places on the island, and annual rainfall can be as high as 12,000 millimeters." "Birds of Paradise have only evolved to live in wet rainforests, and this is the reason why their range is restricted to the mountains of New Guinea." "Tadashi is in search of the Magnificent Riflebird- already he can hear its calls." "The front of its breast carries a shield of iridescent turquoise feathers." "The male dances on a thick branch on the lower part of a tree or even sometimes on the forest floor." "Extraordinary as this dance is," "Tadashi' s remaining challenge is to film the Magnificent Bird of Paradise." "It means trekking deep into the rainforest." "These tropical evergreen forests harbour as many as eleven thousand different species of plants almost sixty percent of these are endemic to New Guinea, and found nowhere else." "several times deep ravines block their path." "ln other places they have to hack their way through dense thickets of thorny rattans and lianas." "Just as it seems it may be impossible to find their quarry, their luck may be about to turn." ""We have just heard that people in a remote village have reported seeing a bare patch of ground in the forest," "and they are willing to take us there." "Perhaps this is the dancing stage of the Magnificent Bird of Paradise?"" "Tadashi knows this may be his last chance." "He decides to lose no time, and ask the local people to show him what they have found." "The villagers lead Tadashi deep into the forest." "Birds of Paradise usually display during the dry season, and it' s easy to see why" "At last they find what they have been looking for" "the dancing stage of The Magnificent Bird of Paradise." "It lies in a natural clearing where light can reach the ground." "Tadashi believes that it' s owner must still be around to maintain it, as there are no leaves scattered around the surface." "It looks as though it has been swept clean with a broom." "The villagers were right!" "Now all Tadashi has to do is wait for the male to come back to his dance floor." "Suddenly he arrives." "His plumage is the most extraordinary Tadashi has seen brilliant yellow wings, with two long curved plumes emerging from the back." "Like the Lawes' Parotia, he immediately starts cleaning the earth floor of any debris." "First he removes the leaves with a deft flick of the beak." "Then he even begins to clear away moss and lichen.." "Finally he starts to snip off any leaves" "often to a height of several metres above the ground." "Some courts are maintained for at least three years." "Only when the stage is spotless does he begin to try to attract a female' s attention by calling from a branch." "He continune calls, hoping to attract female." "But luck is not on his side." "It' s impossible for him to dance when his stage is turned to mud." "Both Tadashi and the male must wait for the rains to end." "Slash-and-burn agriculture and commercial logging can completely alter the ecology of the forests." "Without tree roots to hold it in place, the thin soil becomes vulnerable to erosion when the rains arrive." "Instead of soaking into the ground, the water pours off the mountainsides in torrents." "After four days, the rains finally abate." "On the first dry morning Tadashi is waiting in the hide." "This time he doesn' t start cleaning the stage, but instead begins to inflate his feathers there must be a female about!" "Over the years females have chosen the males with increasingly ornate feathers as an indication of health and breeding potential." "Gradually the males' plumage and courtship display has evolved" "Darwin believed the Bird of Paradise show the most extreme form of sexual selection." "The male performs this display every day during the breeding season." "Finally the female reveals herself and enters the arena." "This is his chance to impress her." "Like many Birds of Paradise, she is quite drab, compared to the male." "Males do nothing but feed and display." "Once they have mated they leave all the nest building, incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks to the female, so it is vital that she is well camouflaged." "Tadashi is thrilled to have been able to film this display." "The male constantly keeps his brilliant breast shield exposed towards the female as she flies around him, inflating it, and expanding the white ruff at the back of his neck..." "Tadashi wants to pay a visit to the local village once last time for without their help, his quest would have been impossible." "As long as local people continue to believe that spirits reside in the trees, plants and birds in the rainforests, then these forests will be safe." "They have practiced subsistence farming, and lived in balance with nature, for thousands of years." "But in some parts of New Guinea things have begun to change." "As people come into more frequent contact with outside influences their connection with the natural world is broken, and they become more likely to damage their environment for economic gain." "Commercial logging is one of the main threats to these forests." "Poachers often use the new roads to search for Birds of Paradise to sell illegally." "The only way to protect these rainforests, and the extraordinary and unique creatures that live there, is to protect the way of life of the local people, who have been their guardians for so long."