Birds of paradise have evolved into very
conspicuous animals with orange, red and turquoise plumage and ornate wire-like
feathers that have captured the imagination of scientists and bird enthusiasts
alike.
Their showy features are a delight to behold,
but they would also make them an easy target for hungry cats and other
predatory mammals -- if there were any around. The absence of such predators is
precisely what allowed these otherwise impractical species to evolve.
"There was an evolutionary opportunity to
develop that kind of extravagance," ornithologist Ed Scholes of
the Cornell Lab of Ornithology said. "They're a quirk of
geography."
More than 20 years ago, wildlife photographer
Tim Laman saw his first birds of paradise, the Standardwing and the Red Bird of
Paradise, while traveling in Indonesia. He started imagining a project to
photograph every species of these birds in their natural habitats of New Guinea and parts of Australia.
"It was one of the dream assignments on my
list," said Laman,
who's also a rainforest biologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard.
Laman, whose work often focuses on conservation,
finally pitched the project to National Geographic in 2003. He teamed up with
Scholes, and during the next three years the pair made five trips to New Guinea
and managed to photograph about half of the 39 species of birds of paradise.
Video and continued:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/12/birds-of-paradise/
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