Scientific name Seleucidis melanoleucus Higher classification Seleucidis Order Passerine | Family Paradisaeidae Phylum Chordata Rank Species | |
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Genus SeleucidisLesson, 1834 Similar Bird‑of‑paradise, Bird, Parotia, Magnificent bird‑of‑paradise, King of Saxony bird‑of‑paradise | ||
Twelve wired bird of paradise
The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise (Seleucidis melanoleucus) is a medium-sized, approximately 33 cm (13 in) long, velvet black and yellow bird-of-paradise. The male has a red iris, long black bill and rich yellow plumes along his flanks. From the rear of these plumes emerge twelve blackish, wire-like filaments, which bend back near their bases to sweep forward over the bird's hindquarters. The female is a brown bird with black-barred buffy underparts. Their feet are strong, large-clawed and pink in color.
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The sole representative of the monotypic genus Seleucidis, the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is a bird of lowland forests. The male displays on an exposed vertical perch with his breast-shield flared. Their diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods in addition to frogs, insects, and nectar.
They are found in flat lowlands and swamp forests, particularly throughout New Guinea and Salawati Island, Indonesia. The twelve-wired bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and is listed on Appendix II of CITES. It has not been easy to breed them in captivity. The first successful captive breeding program was at Singapore's Jurong Bird Park, in 2001.
Twelve wired bird of paradise what are the wires for
