Common Birds of Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea's national bird — males with flowing orange plumes display communally at forest lek trees, making Varirata NP (just 36 km from Port Moresby) accessible for beginners.

The smallest and perhaps most exquisite Bird-of-Paradise — the male's crimson body, white breast, and coiled wire tail ornaments define extravagance in the animal kingdom.

The world's largest pigeon at 2.4 kg — the lace-like blue crown fanned above the head makes it look too beautiful to be real; walks slowly on forest floors in north PNG.

The world's most dangerous bird — its powerful kick can deliver fatal blows; despite this, it is a shyer-than-expected rainforest giant that flees from humans in PNG's forests.

Males hang inverted from a branch and vibrate their iridescent blue fan plumes while making a harsh buzzing sound — widely considered the most magnificent of all Birds-of-Paradise.

The world's largest black cockatoo — males drum hollow branches with stick tools to signal territory, making this one of very few birds known to use tools rhythmically.

Males display upside-down at the top of isolated sago palms, waving twelve wiry tail feathers that curve forward to stroke the female's face during courtship.

A robust kookaburra with a massive, flat-topped bill used to dig earthworms from soft soil — found in mid-elevation forest above 600 m in Papua New Guinea.