{"id":6605,"date":"2022-05-30T08:41:33","date_gmt":"2022-05-30T08:41:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.booksofall.com\/cn\/?post_type=product&p=6605"},"modified":"2022-05-31T07:03:09","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T07:03:09","slug":"travel-a-charmed-encounter-with-birds-of-paradise-in-papuas-arfak-mountains","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.booksofall.com\/cn\/travel-a-charmed-encounter-with-birds-of-paradise-in-papuas-arfak-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel: A charmed encounter with birds-of-paradise in Papua\u2019s Arfak Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

ARFAK MOUNTAINS<\/a>, Indonesia \u2014 Seblon Mandacan scampers with ease up the slippery footpath through the forest in the Arfak Mountains. I follow slowly. It\u2019s about 4 a.m. and the sky\u2019s still dark. Wearing headlamps, we cut through the forest mist here at an elevation of about 1,900 meters (6,200 feet) above sea level. I find it a struggle to get up this early and steel myself for the walk. The wind knifes through the multiple layers of clothing I\u2019ve put on, and the cold cuts to the bone. It rained the previous night, making the trek that much more taxing. I have to grasp tree trunks and branches to avoid slipping, and step gingerly to make sure the ground is solid.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s the price I\u2019m willing to pay to reach the \u201cplayground\u201d of the greater superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba), known locally as nyet, a bird species endemic to the Papua region of Indonesia. \u201cThey start to flock to the playground between 6 and 7 a.m.,\u201d says Seblon, 18, pointing to a moss-covered fallen tree that the birds are said to frequent. \u201cLet\u2019s hide under this blind so the birds won\u2019t be able to see us,\u201d he says. We wait in silence beneath the tarpaulin for about an hour and a half, not moving even to smack the mosquitoes landing on us, for fear of making noise. I\u2019ve heard that this particular bird species is very sensitive to noise and difficult to encounter.<\/p>\n

And then, faintly, there\u2019s a chirp from afar.<\/p>\n

Seblon points to the fallen log again, where a male superb bird-of-paradise has now perched. It looks around for a bit, appearing to be assessing any threats, before calling out to its female partner. When the latter arrives, a spectacular show immediately gets underway. The male flares out the patch of shiny blue feathers on its neck, which glow against the\u00a0legendarily void-like black<\/a>\u00a0of the rest of its body, and dances around the female. With every passing minute it puts on a different act, none of which I will ever forget.<\/p>\n

When the dance is over and the birds are gone, I can\u2019t stop thanking Seblon profusely for the experience that I\u2019ve now captured on camera.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"