Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Diphyllodes respublica
Wilson's bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus respublica) is a species of passerine bird of the family Paradisaeidae.
The first footage of the Wilson's bird-of-paradise ever to be filmed was recorded in 1996 by David Attenborough for the BBC documentary Attenborough in Paradise. He did so by dropping leaves on the forest floor, which irritated the bird into clearing them away.
Wilson's bird-of-paradise is rather small. Males can reach a length of 16 cm (21 cm including central rectrices) and a weight of 53–67 g, while females can reach a length of 16 cm, but a weight of 52–60 g. The male is a red and black bird-of-paradise, with a yellow mantle on its neck, light green mouth, rich blue feet and two curved violet tail feathers. The head is naked blue, with a black double cross pattern on it. The female is a brownish bird with bare blue crown.
In the field, the blue bare skin on the crown of the bird's head is so vivid that it is clearly visible by night; the deep scarlet back and velvet green breast are lush, the curlicue tail gleaming bright silver.