Coloured photograph of the Raggiana Bird of Paradise perched on a branch full of multi-coloured lichens which stretches diagonally across the frame from the bottom-left side up to the upper-right corner. Against a washed-out pale angel-blue sky, its reddish-copper wings are blurred from the action of flapping, with its body and legs positioned as if about to take off, as it flares its hind feathers. It has a fairly long, pointed blueish-grey beak extending from a small blueish-black front, forest green chin, black breasts, pale yellow throat and head, pale pastel pink inner-wing feathers, and a reddish-copper plumage and long feathery tail which softly and gracefully curves downwards.

14Plate 1: The Raggiana Bird of Paradise features on both the national crest and flag of Papua New Guinea, the only country where it is found.

Photo: Courtesy of William S. Peckover.

ABN: 15 211 513 464
CRICOS number: 00026A

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