Cendrawasih Bird

Cenrawasih

Birds of Paradise are a group of birds belonging to the Paradisaeidae family and the Passeriformes order. This bird species can be found on the island of Papua, the Maluku islands, the Torres Strait islands, Papua New Guinea to eastern Australia. 

More specifically, Cendrawasih from the Paradisaeidae family is unique, in that the male bird has long feathers and grassy patterns that grow on its wings, head and beak. Meanwhile, the famous bird of paradise, for example, is Cenrawaih Buning Besar (Paradisaea apoda). This bird was traded by the indigenous people of Papua to the Eripa people by removing their wings and legs so they could be used as decoration. It is from this treat that this species has the scientific name "apoda" or without legs.

The people of Papua consider the Bird of Paradise to be an incarnation of heaven. The beauty of the colors of its fur are so beautiful that it will make people amazed when they see it. Based on the meaning of the name or its etymology, Cendrawasih is a combination of two words, namely "cendra" which means god or goddess and "wasih" which means messenger. 

Birds of Paradise consist of several genera and species, namely 14 genera and 43 species. Although it can be found from Papua New Guinea to Australia, most of the Cendrawasih species are in Indonesian territory, namely 30 species and 28 of them come from Papua / Irian Jaya. Meanwhile, in the Maluku and Halmahera islands there are 2 species of this paradise bird. 

European royalty have known this bird since 1522 and nicknamed it the "Bird of Paradise". At the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century, this native Papuan bird was once a trading commodity for its feathers to decorate European women's hats.

Apart from that, Cendrawasih feathers are also used as headdresses by the tribes of the interior of Papua when performing traditional ceremonies, such as welcoming guests, weddings and so on. 

However, the growing awareness of the importance of conserving these animals makes the Bird of Paradise must be protected. As a manifestation of this, Cendrawasih was later used as a mascot and a symbol of pride for the Papuan people. So that the use of Cendrawasih feathers is now being replaced with faux fur.

Characteristics and Morphology 

The main characteristic of the Cenderawasih bird is its beautiful feathers, especially the male Cendrawasih. Usually this bird's feathers are brightly colored, namely a mixture or combination of black, blue, yellow, red, brown, purple, green and white.

Cendrawasih

Physically, the size of Cendrawasih birds varies greatly, ranging from 15 cm to 110 cm in size and weighing between 50 grams to 430 grams according to the type of species.

An example is the Cendrawasih Raja (Cicinnurus regius) whose body is small or about 15 cm and weighs 50 grams. Meanwhile, the large-sized Cendrawasih are the Cendrawasih Paruh Sabit Hitam (Cicinnurus regius) which grow to 110 cm, and the Cendrawasih Manukod Jambul bergulung (Cicinnurus regius) weighing 430 grams. 

The shape of the feet of the Bird of Paradise is of the pertengger type with long toes and flat feet. This shape facilitates this bird to perch on tree branches. For the type of beak, it is a type of seed eater with a thick and pointed beak that functions to break up seeds.

Bird of Paradise Habitat

Cendrawasih generally inhabits lowland to mountainous forest areas in eastern Indonesia. Its habitat is in the tropical rain forest with dense vegetation in the forgetfulness of the Torres Strait, Papua Island (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) and Eastern Australia.

This bird likes areas with tall stands and rather dense branches and there are several types of vines around it. Several types of trees used as places of residence for Cendrawasih are banyan trees (Ficus benjamina), Myristica sp., Pandaus sp., Instia sp., Palaquium sp., and Hapololobus sp.

The tree is used as a place to shelter, perch, shelter and nest or lay their eggs. An example is the Little Yellow Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea minor) which breeds on banyan trees.

This bird is suitable to live in primary forest areas, so if the habitat it occupies has changed and is no longer liked, it will move to another area that is in accordance with the living characteristics of the Bird of Paradise. 

The daily food of this bird is seeds, berries, insects, and caterpillars. In the wild, the survival of Cendrawasih is very dependent on the natural conditions of the forest, therefore this bird is very vulnerable to changes in forest function.

Population Distribution

Cendrawasih birds are generally distributed in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. While the distribution of certain types of species is sometimes limited and endemic to certain islands.

For example, the Little Yellow Cendrawasih (Paradisaea minor) which lives on the island of Papua and spreads from the west to include Waigeo, Salawati, Batanta, Kofiau, Misool, Gagi, Gebe, then islands in Cendrawasih Bay such as Numfor, Biak, Yapen, and Meosnum, to the islands of Cendrawasih. Aru to southwest Papua.

Meanwhile, the Great Yellow Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is spread in the lowlands to the hills in southwest Papua and the Aru islands. Efforts to save this bird were carried out from 1909 to 1912 by bringing it to Little Tobago Island in the Caribbean by William Ingram to avoid extinction due to the removal of its feathers, but a report in 1958 stated that this bird was extinct.

There are also endemic Birds of Paradise which are only found in the Maluku Islands and Seram Island. Bird of Paradise Crow (Lycocorax pyrrhopterus) which can be found in the North Maluku Islands, then Bird of Paradise Halmahera (Semioptera wallacii) which can be found in Ake Tajawe National Park.

Based on the Field Guidebook for Birds in the Wallacea Region, the Cendrawasih Crow is divided into three sub-species, including:

Lycocorax pyrrhopterus pyrrhopterus in Halmahera, Bacan and Kasiruta

Lycocorax pyrrhopterus morotensis found in Rau and Morotau

Lycocorax pyrrhopterus obiensis which is in Obi and Bisa

Behavioral Characteristics

The nature of Birds of Paradise tends to be solitary or lives in small groups and will gather when the breeding season comes. An example is the Little Yellow Cendrawasih which generally lives in small groups which usually consist of more than 2 individuals, either a pair of male and female or of the same sex.

When the male and female Cendrawasih mate, the male will perform a dance to attract the female's attention. Before doing the dance, the male bird will clean the beak and the environment around the nest, then dance and show off its beautiful feathers.

In addition to behavior in the form of dance, male birds will also emit a distinctive chirping sound. Birds of Paradise are sexually dimorphic birds, that is, they will be polygamous.

Data regarding the number of Cendrawasih eggs is difficult to know, but in general large birds will produce one egg, while small birds will produce 2 to 3 eggs.

Cendrawasih activities start from sunrise and will begin to rest when the weather is hot and late in the afternoon. This active bird usually perches on low to sloping branches with a habit of stretching its wings.

Apart from making sounds to attract the attention of female birds, males also have a habit of singing in the evening before sunset.