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Trance dance

After waiting for days, the superb bird of paradise finally comes down to a log, displaying his beautiful blue and green breast plate in an attempt to entice a female down from the trees. When she finally arrives, he transforms himself, raising his feathers to create a black cape behind his head. He develops a trance like state and begins to dance for her, showing off his iridescent feathers to their best. However, the performance is not what it seems, the spots which look like eyes are in fact feathers which reflect the dawn light, the clicking noise which is produced are the feather quills clicking against one another, like the clicking of fingers. It's no wonder that the breast plate plumage is so highly prized by humans.

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Duration:

2 minutes