BURUNG CENDERAWASIH (birds-of-paradise)

Burung Cenderawasih ialah sejenis burung dalam keluarga Paradisaeidae susunan Passeriformes. Ia terdapat di kawasanAustralasia timur Indonesia, New Guinea dan tenggara Australia. Ahli keluarga ini terkenal kerana bulu pelepahnya yang dimiliki oleh burung jantan kebanyakan spesies, yang digunakan bagi menarik burung betina ketika musim mengawan. Kebanyakan spesies turut mempunyai bulu pelepah yang amat panjang dan berambu menjulur dari ekor, sayap atau kepala. Sungguhpun memiliki jambul yang menyerlah, dari segi anatomi ia tergolong dalam burung berkicau primitif.

Yang paling terkenal kerana bulu mereka adalah spesies genus Paradisaea, termasuk spesies jenis burung Cenderawasih Besar,Paradisaea apoda. Spesies ini digambarkan dari contoh yang dibawa balik ke Eropah dari ekspedisi perdagangan. Spesimen ini disediakan oleh pedagang tempatan dengan membuang kaki dan sayap mereka, yang mendorong kepada kepercayaan bahawa burung ini tidak pernah hinggap tetapi kekal terapung oleh bulu mereka. Ini memberikan nama Inggeris mereka "Burung syurga - birds of paradise" dan nama saintifik apoda - tanpa kaki.

Kebanyakan spesies memiliki upacara mengawan yang rumit, dengan spesies Paradisaea mempunyai sistem mengawan jenis Lek. Yang lain, seperti spesies Cicinnurus dan Parotia, mempunyai tarian mengawan yang khusus, dengan spesies menggayakan jambul dalam gaya tarian ballet tutu yang merupakan tabiat yang mengkagumkan bagi burung kerana persamaan secara tidak sengaja dengan tarian hula dan limbo.

Kepercayaan masyarakat nusantara

Merurut kepercayaan masyarakat nusantara, burung Cenderawasih berasal dari kayangan. Ia dikatakan hanya minum air embun, makan awan dan apabila ia jatuh di bumi, ia akan mati, namun badannya tidak akan reput untuk seketika. Itulah satu-satunya masa untuk melihat akan kecantikan burung kayangan ini.

Ia mempunyai cerita dan lagenda tersendiri. Kata orang burung ini membawa tuah. Selalu juga dikaitkan sebagai berkhasiat tinggi dalam perubatan. Ia juga dikaitkan dengan pelaris kepada sesiapa yang memilikinya. Ia juga berupaya untuk menghalang pemilik dari dikenakan hantaran santau.

Burung cenderawasih ini juga dipercayai penjaga sejenis batu permata (zamrud hijau) yang tinggi nilainya pada masyarakat nusantara.

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The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Australia. The family has 42 species in 15 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the sexually dimorphic species (the majority), in particular the highly elongated and elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy.

A number of species are threatened by hunting and habitat loss.

Habitat and distribution

The centre of bird-of-paradise diversity is the large island of New Guinea; all but two genera are found in New Guinea. The two that are not are the monotypic genera Lycocoraxand Semioptera, both of which are endemic to the Maluku Islands, to the west of New Guinea. Of the riflebirds in the genus Ptiloris, two are endemic to the coastal forests of eastern Australia, one occurs in both Australia and New Guinea, and one is only found in New Guinea. The only other genus to have a species outside New Guinea is Manucodia, one representative of which is found in the extreme north of Queensland. The remaining species are restricted to New Guinea and some of the surrounding islands. Many species have highly restricted ranges, particularly a number of species with restricted habitat types such as mid-montane forest (like the black sicklebill) or island endemics (like the Wilson's bird-of-paradise).

The majority of birds-of-paradise live in tropical forests, including rainforest, swamps and moss forest, nearly all of them solitary tree dwellers.

Several species have been recorded in coastal mangroves. The southernmost species, the paradise riflebird of Australia, lives in sub-tropical and temperate wet forests. As a group the manucodes are the most plastic in their habitat requirements, with in particular the glossy-mantled manucode inhabiting both forest and open savanna woodland. Mid-montane habitats are the most commonly occupied habitat, with thirty of the forty species occurring in the 1000–2000 m altitudinal band.

Diet and feeding

The diet of the birds-of-paradise is dominated by fruit and arthropods, although small amounts of nectar and small vertebrates may also be taken. The ratio of the two food types varies by species, with fruit predominating in some species, and arthropods dominating the diet in others. The ratio of the two will affect other aspects of the behaviour of the species, for example frugivorous species tend to feed in the forest canopy, whereas insectivores may feed lower down in the middle storey. Frugivores are more social than the insectivores, which are more solitary and territorial.

Even the birds-of-paradise that are primarily insect eaters will still take large amounts of fruit; and the family is overall an important seed disperser for the forests of New Guinea, as they do not digest the seeds. Species that feed on fruit will range widely searching for fruit, and while they may join other fruit eating species at a fruiting tree they will not associate with them otherwise and will not stay with other species long. Fruit are eaten while perched and not from the air, and birds-of-paradise are able to use their feet as tools to manipulate and hold their food, allowing them to extract certain capsular fruit. There is some niche differention in fruit choice by species and any one species will only consume a limited number of fruit types compared to the large choice available. For example, the trumpet manucode andcrinkle-collared manucode will eat mostly figs, whereas the Lawes's parotia focuses mostly on berries and the superb bird-of-paradise andraggiana bird-of-paradise take mostly capsular fruit.

Breeding

Most species have elaborate mating rituals, with the Paradisaea species using a lek-type mating system. Others, such as the Cicinnurusand Parotia species, have highly ritualised mating dances. Males are polygamous in the sexually dimorphic species, but monogamous in at least some of the monomorphic species. Hybridisation is frequent in these birds, suggesting the polygamous species of bird of paradise are very closely related despite being in different genera. Many hybrids have been described as new species, and doubt remains regarding whether some forms, such as Rothschild's lobe-billed bird of paradise, are valid. Despite the presence of hybrids, some ornithologists hypothesise that at least some putative hybrids are valid species that may be extinct.

Birds-of-paradise build their nests from soft materials, such as leaves, ferns, and vine tendrils, typically placed in a tree fork. Clutch size is somewhat uncertain. In the large species, it is almost always just one egg. Smaller species may produce clutches of 2–3. Eggs hatch after 16–22 days, and the young leave the nest at between 16 and 30 days of age.