The riflebirds totally ignore me around here.  A couple of weeks ago I was cleaning at the Bali Cottage and set my video up to record (please excuse my clunking around and opening of screen doors).

A male bird of paradise was attempting to woo a female down from her tree with his usual bag of tricks.

Trick No.1 – Get her attention.  Screech as loudly as you can, but don’t worry about  frightening nearby, unsuspecting humans (sorry, missed that bit on the video, had to pick myself up off the floor).

Trick No. 2 – Dazzle her.  Position your iridescent head and tail in such a way to reflect the rays of sunlight, resulting in a  brilliant light show.

Trick No. 3 – Make a huge smiley face.  Lift your wings into a perfect circle and thrust your head right back, then puff out your glistening chest feathers into a pleasing arc/smile.

Trick No. 4 – Hypnotic induction.  Bob slowly up and down in a rhythmic manner, thereby focussing your subjects attention and relaxing them in your presence.

Trick No. 5 – The beautiful flower.  Open you beak as wide as possible, displaying the awesome vivid yellow inside. She is sure to be amazed by this wonderful rainforest flower and come down to have a closer look.

This time the show was unsuccessful, but the riflebird is disappointed only for a moment, he will shrug off the failure and perform again at the next opportunity. Video below.

If  you cannot see the video, view on my youtube channel here.