Parotia carolae
The Queen Carola's Parotia (Parotia carolae) is a mesmerizing medium-sized bird-of-paradise, renowned for the male's spectacular courtship display and elaborate ornamentation. Males measure approximately 25-27 cm in length, boasting a velvety black plumage contrasted by an iridescent blue-green frontal crest, a golden-bronze mantle, and three long, spatulate-tipped occipital plumes extending from behind each eye. A shimmering blue-green to magenta breast shield and fluffy black flank feathers...
Found in tropical and subtropical moist montane forests, primarily at elevations between 1,000 and 2,000 meters above sea level.
Primarily frugivorous, consuming a variety of fruits, especially figs, supplemented with arthropods such as insects and spiders, typically gleaned from foliage or bark.
Queen Carola's Parotia is a diurnal and largely solitary species, except during the breeding season when males establish and meticulously maintain display courts. These courts are cleared patches of forest floor, about 1-2 meters in diameter, free of debris. The male's elaborate courtship involve...
The Queen Carola's Parotia is endemic to the central mountain ranges of western New Guinea (West Papua, Indonesia). Its distribution is fragmented across several isolated montane forest blocks. The nominate subspecies, *P. c. carolae*, inhabits the Weyland and Snow Mountains, while *P. c. cleland...
Least Concern
- The male Queen Carola's Parotia performs a distinctive 'ballerina' dance, meticulously choreographed on a self-cleared forest floor display court. - Its three elongated occipital plumes, ending in spatulate tips, are a key feature used in the male's elaborate courtship display. - The iridescent...