the.com/bird of paradise
the male spends his whole life learning to dance so well rejection becomes a career.
means A bird of paradise is any of the many spectacularly plumaged birds native chiefly to New Guinea and nearby regions, famous for the males' elaborate courtship displays — or, by extension, a tropical plant (Strelitzia) whose orange-and-blue flower resembles such a bird in flight.
from The name comes from the Spanish and Portuguese sailors who first carried the dried skins of these birds back to Europe in the early 16th century. Traders often removed the feet before trading, so the legless specimens that reached Europe seemed never to land — fueling the legend that these birds drifted perpetually in the heavens, feeding on dew, never touching earth until death. From this came the Latin scientific name Paradisaea apoda, literally 'footless bird of paradise,' and the lasting English label. The flower borrowed the name later, on the strength of its avian-looking bloom.
- feather physics
- Black plumes absorb 99.95% of light, blacker than Vantablack rivals
- audition culture
- Females reject most males; standards are brutally high
- shape-shifter
- Some transform into a pulsing smiley-face oval to dance
- new guinea
- Most of 42 species live nowhere else on Earth
- the plant too
- A namesake flower mimics the bird's vivid crest
wilson's bird of paradise — found in indonesia's waigeo island, performs a unique moonwalk dance on cleared forest floors
superb bird of paradise — native to papua new guinea, males inflate chest to create a bouncing black ball during display
riflebirds of australia — three species in northeastern australia, named for their rifle-crack vocalizations and dramatic poses