Birds of Paradise Pictures

the male magnificent birds of paradise was eating the red fruit in the tropical rainforest of Afak mountains.

Magnificent birds of paradise in the rainforest of Kwau village of Arfak mountains - photographer: Gerard Berkhof

female magnificent birds of paradise was eating red fruit (pandanus conoideus) or buah merah in the tropical rainforest of Kwau village in Arfak mountains

There are various species of birds of paradise. In Papua New Guinea, the red birds of paradise (paradisaea raggiana) has been used as the national symbol or emblem whereas in West Papua which is the territory of Indonesia, the lesser birds of paradise (paradisaea minor) are the most favorite birds that the indigenous people use as decorations on their heads in a number of traditional rituals, ceremonies and dances particularly during the annual celebration of the Gospel Landing Day in Mansinam island and Manokwari city every 5 February. Tourists who want to watch how these beautiful birds perform their courtship dance can go to Senopi village in Tambraw Mountains of Manokwari regency. There, the local Papuan guide can accompany them for a hiking tour through the tropical rainforest early in the morning for a 3-hour walk before they arrive on a hill where the birds gather and dance. The terminology of birds of paradise are also used in naming such flowers as strelitzia, heliconia and other similar varieties whose petals look like the birds. Today, I am not going to discuss about flowers but pictures of the magnificent birds of paradise. (Cincinnurus Magnificus) from the Arfak mountains in Kwau village of Manokwari regency - the Republic of Indonesia.

From 4 to 6 December, I guided Dutch tourists to Arfak mountains for watching how the Papuan people make the extract of red fruit (a traditional Papuan medicine) and watching how the magnificent birds of paradise eat the red fruit and dance at a slope near the tourist house that belongs to Hans Mandacan. Hans can speak English although his communicative skills are very basic. He needs to improve his grammar and listening ability. That's why Hans asked me to accompany the tourists to the mountains to bridge the communication between the Dutch tourists and the local villagers in the Kwau village. Although they are Dutch, I didn't use Dutch. I only used English at that time. We went there by 2 Toyota Hilux. The type of 4WD car that can climb steep slopes of the tropical rainforest of Arfak mountains. The cars stopped at a road where they could not go any further. We had to get off the car and continue our trip walking through the rainforest of the mountains. It took one hour to reach the tourist house that belongs to Hans Mandacan. After taking a rest, at four I guided the tourists to the near by bird watching huts (also called blind) to see the magnificent birds of paradise. I did not enter the huts but the Dutch tourists did. They stayed there for around 1.5 hours to wait for the birds to come.

That afternoon the tourists only saw the birds in a few minutes. The day which was getting darker made the quality of the photographs was not so clear to be presented in this website. The next day, early in the morning at 5.30 a.m., I guided them again thirty minutes before the sun rose in the East. There were two huts so I and Hans Mandacan divided the six tourists into two groups. To attract the birds, Hans Mandacan had put a red fruit and a bunch of ripe forest banana at the bird dancing stage in front of each blind. We then left the tourists to wait for the birds to come. I, Hans, and another local Papuan guide returned to the tourist house. At 9.30, Hans and his friend returned to the blinds to pick the tourists up again. The Dutch tourists who stayed in the blind closer to the house had returned by themselves. So, Hans and the other Papuan guide continued their walk to the hut that was located some four hundred meters from the tourist house. They were still watching the birds dancing. I did not bring my digital camera to take the pictures of the morning dance performance that's why I did not go with them to pick up the tourists. When the Dutch tourists returned, they looked so happy. Gerard Berkhof and his wife were able to record some videos and take pictures of the birds of paradise and the spotted cat bird that came that morning.

When we have returned to Manokwari city - the capital of West Papua province, again I asked if Gerard and his wife could share some of their pictures. They answered, "Yes." The photographs of the magnificent birds of paradise (male and female) as well as the spotted cat bird that you see in this article were taken by Gerard Berkhof. Gerard gave me many pictures of the birds. Unfortunately most of them are blurry due to the weather condition. Because these exotic birds performed the dance early in the morning, sunlight was not fully shining through the trees and leaves of the tropical rainforest. I have to choose some that look clear for this website. If one day, you do the bird watching and want to take pictures, you need to bring a tripod and long lenses to shoot clearer photographs. Also try different shootings depending on the surrounding weather and light condition. You do not have to be a professional photographer to produce high quality pictures.

If you are interested in birding photography and need a camera that is equipped with super zoom capability, you can now buy telephoto bridge cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ100 and DMC-FZ150; Canon Powershot SX40 HS. I personally use Nikon Coolpix P500 that is powered by a 36x optical zoom Nikkor lens. Nikon Coolpix P500 is not a D-SLR camera but it is good enough for hobbyist birding photographer who needs pictures of the birds which they take in open nature. All you need is patience to learn the techniques of taking wildlife pictures. If you want to visit the Arfak mountains and go hiking inside the tropical rainforest of this wonderful New Guinea island, please, do not hesitate to contact me via email: peace4wp@gmail.com , I will be happy to arrange the accommodation and cars for your trip to the region.