World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lemming): Lemming — wildlife guide.

## What population cycles actually look like
Norway lemmings breed rapidly when summers are long and winters allow stable snow cover for nests. Females can mature within weeks of birth and produce successive litters through a good season. Under those conditions a local population can multiply until food and space run short. Predators — arctic foxes, stoats, snowy owls, rough-legged buzzards — respond with delayed increases of their own, and the combination of depleted forage and rising predation helps drive the crash that follows a peak.

The cycle is not a calendar ritual with a fixed suicide date. Peak years are irregular, and the interval commonly cited is roughly three to four years. Between peaks, lemmings can be scarce enough that people who visit the same tundra in consecutive summers see either almost none or astonishing numbers. That swing is ecology, not theatre. It also means any single-year snapshot of 'how many lemmings there are' is almost useless without knowing where the cycle sits.

## Dispersal is not a death march
When densities are high, stronger individuals hold space and younger or subordinate animals move. Movement is often channeled by lakes, rivers and fjords into corridors where many animals travel the same routes. From a distance that can look like a coordinated migration. It is not a planned march into the sea.

Lemmings can and do swim. Crossing a narrow stretch of water is ordinary dispersal behaviour. If the water is wider than the animal's stamina, some drown. Accidental mortality during movement is common across mammals that expand after a boom — moose, beaver and voles included. The difference between that and the film story is intent. Nobody has documented an instinct that causes lemmings to seek cliffs and jump. The animals are trying to find unoccupied ground; the water is an obstacle, not a destination.

## Why the Norway lemming matters
In Fennoscandian tundra, lemmings are a pulse that feeds an entire predator guild. Snowy owl breeding success tracks lemming years. Arctic fox litter sizes rise and fall with the same rhythm. When cycles weaken or fail — something researchers have linked in places to changing snow conditions and warmer winters that collapse the subnivean space where lemmings nest — the effects ripple outward to species people notice more readily than a small rodent.

The IUCN assesses Lemmus lemmus as Least Concern because the species remains widespread across its range and shows no long-term decline that meets Red List thresholds. That status does not mean Arctic food webs are secure. It means this particular rodent is not currently a candidate for an Endangered listing. Climate-driven changes to snow quality are the pressure worth watching, not an invented death wish.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced wildlife education that corrects high-traffic myths when the popular story is wrong. Lemming 'suicide' is one of the clearest cases: a staged film sequence still shapes what people think they know about Arctic ecology.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lemming): Lemming — wildlife guide.

## Do lemmings commit suicide?
No. Lemmings do not deliberately kill themselves in mass jumps. The famous footage was staged for Disney's 1958 film White Wilderness. Real animals disperse at high density, and some drown accidentally when crossing water.

## Why do people think lemmings jump off cliffs?
Because White Wilderness showed them doing so and won a major documentary award. Later investigation found the scene was filmed in Alberta with animals that had been transported and herded for the camera.

## What is a lemming year?
A peak in the multi-year population cycle, when Norway lemmings and related species become extremely numerous across parts of the tundra. Peaks are typically a few years apart and are followed by sharp crashes.

## Are lemmings endangered?
The Norway lemming is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN. There is no reliable global headcount because numbers swing so widely between cycle lows and peaks. Climate change affecting snow cover is a longer-term concern.

## What do lemming / norway lemmings eat?
Lemming / Norway Lemmings eat Key prey for arctic foxes, owls and mustelids. Lemmings are small Arctic rodents in the family Cricetidae whose populations boom and crash on a roughly three-to-four-year cycle; they do not commit mass suicide — the famous cliff-dive footage was staged for Disney's 1958 film White Wilderness.

## Where do lemming / norway lemmings live?
Lemming / Norway Lemmings live in Arctic and alpine tundra; winter nests under snow. Lemmings are small Arctic rodents in the family Cricetidae whose populations boom and crash on a roughly three-to-four-year cycle; they do not commit mass suicide — the famous cliff-dive footage was staged for Disney's 1958 film White Wilderness.

## Are lemming / norway lemmings dangerous?
What lemmings actually do is more interesting. Give wild lemming / norway lemmings space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do lemming / norway lemmings live?
A precise wild lifespan for lemming / norway lemmings is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Lemmings are small Arctic rodents in the family Cricetidae whose populations boom and crash on a roughly three-to-four-year cycle; they do not commit mass suicide — the famous cliff-dive footage was staged for Disney's 1958 film White Wilderness. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a lemming / norway lemming?
A Lemming / Norway Lemming is about ~3–4 yr (Typical Norway lemming population cycle length). Lemmings are small Arctic rodents in the family Cricetidae whose populations boom and crash on a roughly three-to-four-year cycle; they do not commit mass suicide — the famous cliff-dive footage was staged for Disney's 1958 film White Wilderness. Conservation status: Least Concern (Norway lemming).


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/daddy-longlegs): Daddy Longlegs — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Daddy longlegs is a shared common name for cellar spiders (Pholcidae), harvestmen (Opiliones) and sometimes crane flies; none is the world's most venomous spider — harvestmen have no venom, cellar-spider venom is not medically significant to humans, and crane flies have none.

## Introduction
Ask whether daddy longlegs are the most venomous spiders on Earth and the honest first answer is: which animal do you mean? The same English name is used for cellar spiders in the family Pholcidae, for harvestmen in the order Opiliones, and in some places for crane flies. Only one of those three is a spider. None of them carries medically catastrophic venom for humans, and the story that fangs are 'too short to bite' while the toxin is uniquely lethal is false for all of them.

That confusion is the reason a single guide has to cover identification before toxicity. People land on this page because of a myth. Correcting the myth without naming which creature is on the windowsill leaves the reader no better at recognising what they actually saw.

## Takeaway
Daddy longlegs is not one species. Cellar spiders, harvestmen and crane flies are unrelated groups that share a nickname.

## Takeaway
Harvestmen are arachnids but not spiders: one apparent body region, usually two eyes, no silk, no fangs and no venom glands.

## Takeaway
Cellar spiders are true spiders with venom, and they can bite humans; the venom is not medically significant.

## Takeaway
The claim that fangs are too short to pierce human skin while the venom is uniquely lethal is false for cellar spiders.

## Takeaway
Crane flies are insects with six legs and no venom at all — they are flies, not arachnids.

## Takeaway
Most supposed 'spider bites' blamed on daddy longlegs are other skin conditions or other arthropods.

## Takeaway
Fear of daddy longlegs is out of proportion to risk; they are common indoor predators of small insects.

## Three animals, one nickname
In Britain and much of North America, 'daddy longlegs' most often means either a cellar spider hanging in a messy web in a corner, or a harvestman walking across a wall with a compact oval body and eight absurdly long legs. In some regions the same words mean a crane fly — a large, fragile true fly that looks nothing like either arachnid once you count the legs.

The groups are not close relatives. Cellar spiders belong to Araneae, the true spiders. Harvestmen belong to Opiliones, a separate arachnid order that diverged long before spiders evolved silk and fangs. Crane flies are insects in Tipulidae. Treating them as one animal is like writing one guide for 'seagull' and expecting it to cover albatrosses. The myth thrives partly because people argue past each other about different creatures under the same label.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/daddy-longlegs): Daddy Longlegs — wildlife guide.

## The venom myth, piece by piece
University of California, Riverside arachnologists have summarised the claim clearly: daddy longlegs are said to be among the most venomous spiders, prevented from killing people only by short fangs. That story fails for each animal the name covers.

Harvestmen have no venom glands and no fangs. They cannot inject toxin. Some species produce defensive chemical secretions that deter predators when eaten or contacted, which is poison in the technical sense, not injectable venom — and not a human medical emergency. Cellar spiders do have venom and chelicerae capable of piercing skin; documented effects on people are mild and short-lived where they occur at all. Comparative tests discussed in UCR's public notes found cellar-spider venom far less potent in its effects than black-widow venom. Crane flies have no venom apparatus whatsoever. The myth survives because it is a memorable story, not because any of the three animals matches it.

## How to tell cellar spider from harvestman
Look at the body. A cellar spider has two clear regions — a fused head-and-thorax (cephalothorax) and a separate abdomen — and hangs in a loose, irregular web, often vibrating the web violently when disturbed. Eyes are typically clustered near the front. Legs are extremely long and thin, and the animal is a predator of small insects, including other spiders.

A harvestman looks like a single oval body on stilts. There is no narrow waist. Most species have two eyes on a raised turret. They do not spin capture webs. Many feed on decaying material and small soft-bodied prey. If the creature on your wall has six legs and two wings (or wing stubs), it is a crane fly and you have left arachnids entirely. Those three checks — body segments, web presence, leg count — settle almost every household argument about 'daddy longlegs' without needing a microscope.

## Risk, fear and what is worth knowing
Cellar spiders are among the invertebrates most often killed in houses out of disproportionate fear. They occupy corners, cellars and sheds where flying insects concentrate, and they pose negligible medical risk in ordinary encounters. Harvestmen are equally harmless to people. Neither group is a conservation priority in the way endemic cave spiders can be; most widespread species have never been Red-Listed because they are common.

What is worth knowing is the identification, because accurate naming stops the myth recycling. A page that says 'daddy longlegs are harmless' without specifying which animal will be contradicted the moment someone meets a different creature under the same name. The useful answer is structural: name the group, describe the body plan, state the venom facts for that group, and leave the urban legend where it belongs — as an example of how a story outruns the evidence.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free invertebrate education that separates shared nicknames from biology. Daddy longlegs is a high-traffic myth query; answering it accurately reduces needless fear and unnecessary killing of harmless household predators.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/daddy-longlegs): Daddy Longlegs — wildlife guide.

## Are daddy longlegs the most venomous spiders?
No. The claim is false for every animal that shares the name. Harvestmen have no venom. Cellar-spider venom is not medically significant to humans. Crane flies have no venom at all.

## Can a daddy longlegs bite you?
Cellar spiders can bite, though bites are uncommon and effects are mild. Harvestmen cannot bite people with fangs — they have none. Crane flies do not bite.

## Is a daddy longlegs a spider?
Only if you mean a cellar spider (Pholcidae). Harvestmen are arachnids but not spiders. Crane flies are insects. Check body segments and leg count before deciding.

## What is the difference between a harvestman and a cellar spider?
Harvestmen look like one oval body on long legs and do not build capture webs. Cellar spiders have two body regions, build messy webs, and hang upside down in corners.

## Are daddy longlegs dangerous to pets or children?
No meaningful medical risk is associated with common cellar spiders or harvestmen in ordinary home encounters. Fear of them is out of proportion to documented harm.

## What do daddy longlegs eat?
Many feed on decaying material and small soft-bodied prey. Daddy longlegs is a shared common name for cellar spiders (Pholcidae), harvestmen (Opiliones) and sometimes crane flies; none is the world's most venomous spider — harvestmen have no venom, cellar-spider venom is not medically significant to humans, and crane flies have none.

## Where do daddy longlegs live?
Habitat depends on the animal. Cellar spiders build messy webs in cellars, sheds and corners across temperate regions. Harvestmen walk on vegetation, bark and leaf litter worldwide. Crane flies occur in grassland and gardens. All three unrelated groups share the nickname daddy longlegs.

## How big is a daddy longlegs?
Size varies by group. Harvestmen appear as one oval body on extremely long thin legs — two body parts, not a separate head and abdomen like true spiders. Cellar spiders have two body regions and hang in webs. Crane flies are insects with six legs. Three unrelated animal groups share the English name.

## How long do daddy longlegs live?
A precise wild lifespan for daddy longlegs is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Daddy longlegs is a shared common name for cellar spiders (Pholcidae), harvestmen (Opiliones) and sometimes crane flies; none is the world's most venomous spider — harvestmen have no venom, cellar-spider venom is not medically significant to humans, and crane flies have none. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/grey-cuscus): Grey Cuscus — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The grey cuscus (Phalanger orientalis) is a slow, nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial of New Guinea and nearby islands; it is a possum rather than a primate, and archaeological evidence shows people were deliberately moving it between islands around 20,000 years ago.

## Introduction
The grey cuscus is a slow, nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial of New Guinea and the surrounding islands, and it is misidentified more consistently than almost any animal in the region. Its round face, forward-set eyes and deliberate climbing suggest a primate; its pace suggests a sloth. It is neither. Cuscuses are possums, in the family Phalangeridae, and their nearest relatives are the brushtail possums of Australia.

It also carries an unusual distinction in archaeology. Grey cuscus remains appear on islands the species could not have reached alone, in deposits dating back roughly 20,000 years — evidence that people were deliberately moving animals between islands in the Pleistocene. That makes this unremarkable-looking marsupial one of the earliest documented cases of humans translocating a mammal anywhere in the world.

## Takeaway
The grey cuscus is a marsupial possum in the family Phalangeridae, not a primate and not a sloth — its closest relatives are Australian brushtail possums.

## Takeaway
It has a prehensile tail with a bare, roughened tip that grips like a fifth limb while climbing.

## Takeaway
Like other possums it shows syndactyly: the second and third toes of the hind foot are fused inside a shared skin sheath, with the claws left separate, and are used for grooming.

## Takeaway
Cuscus remains on islands the species could not have colonised unaided date to roughly 20,000 years ago — among the earliest known human translocations of any mammal.

## Takeaway
It is nocturnal and slow-moving, feeding mainly on leaves, fruit and flowers, with the low-energy lifestyle a leaf diet forces.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, but that reflects a wide range rather than security: it is hunted intensively for meat across much of New Guinea and is easy to catch precisely because it moves slowly.

## Why is a cuscus not a monkey?
The resemblance is convergent evolution, not relatedness. A cuscus has a round head, forward-facing eyes, grasping hands and a prehensile tail — the standard toolkit for an animal that makes a living moving carefully through a forest canopy, and one that primates arrived at independently on other continents. New Guinea has no native monkeys. The niche was there, and marsupials filled it.

The giveaways are marsupial. Females have a forward-opening pouch in which the young complete their development after a very short gestation. The hind foot shows syndactyly, with two toes fused within a single sheath of skin, an arrangement found across the diprotodont marsupials. And the front teeth are the paired procumbent lower incisors that give the group its name. A cuscus is a possum that has taken on a primate's job.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/grey-cuscus): Grey Cuscus — wildlife guide.

## The 20,000-year-old translocation
Grey cuscus bones turn up in archaeological deposits on islands including New Ireland, in layers dated to roughly 20,000 years ago. The species is not native there and could not have crossed the water unaided. The only plausible explanation is that people carried it, deliberately, and released it.

That matters well beyond this animal. It pushes the record of humans intentionally moving a mammal into a new environment back into the Pleistocene, thousands of years before agriculture. The likely motive is straightforward: a slow, edible, easily caught arboreal marsupial is a portable food supply, and stocking an island with one is a rational thing to do if you intend to return. It is also, in modern terms, the introduction of a non-native species — the same process that has since driven island extinctions worldwide, carried out by people who had no framework for thinking about it that way.

## Living slowly on a leaf diet
Leaves are abundant and nutritionally poor. Animals that rely on them tend to be slow, to rest for long periods, and to run low metabolic rates — the pattern that produces sloths in South America, koalas in Australia and cuscuses in New Guinea, none of them related.

The grey cuscus eats leaves, fruit and flowers, sleeps through the day curled in dense foliage or a tree hollow, and moves at night with a deliberateness that has nothing to do with caution. Its digestive system ferments plant material slowly, which sets a ceiling on how much energy it can extract per hour and therefore on how fast it can afford to move. Every part of the animal follows from that constraint.

## Why 'Least Concern' understates the pressure
The grey cuscus occupies a large range across New Guinea and neighbouring islands, and that breadth is what earns the Least Concern listing. Range size is not the same as safety.

Cuscuses are among the most heavily hunted animals in New Guinea, taken for meat and for fur, and their slowness makes them exceptionally easy to catch — with dogs, at night, by hand. In areas near settlements and along new logging roads, local populations have been thinned or removed entirely, and a species can be locally absent across large areas while a range map still shows it as widespread. Logging and conversion to oil palm remove canopy connectivity that an animal reluctant to descend to the ground depends on. The listing describes the species as a whole; it does not describe the forest nearest to any given village.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including for animals that receive almost no coverage in English. New Guinea holds roughly 5% of global biodiversity on under 1% of the world's land area and is among the least documented major rainforest regions, which means basic accurate information about its animals is genuinely scarce rather than merely repetitive.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/grey-cuscus): Grey Cuscus — wildlife guide.

## What is a cuscus?
A slow, nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial in the family Phalangeridae, found in New Guinea, northern Australia and nearby islands. Despite a monkey-like appearance, it is a possum — its closest relatives are the brushtail possums of Australia.

## Is a cuscus a monkey or a sloth?
Neither. It is a marsupial. The resemblance to both is convergent evolution: a round face, grasping hands and a prehensile tail are what a slow canopy-dwelling leaf-eater tends to end up with, and primates and sloths arrived at the same features separately.

## Where do grey cuscuses live?
New Guinea and surrounding islands including the Moluccas, Timor, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands. Their presence on several of those islands is the result of humans moving them there in prehistory.

## What do cuscuses eat?
Mainly leaves, supplemented with fruit and flowers. A leaf diet yields little energy, which is why cuscuses are slow-moving and spend much of the day asleep — the same constraint that shapes sloths and koalas.

## Are grey cuscuses endangered?
The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern because of its wide range, but that hides intense local pressure. Cuscuses are heavily hunted for meat and are easy to catch, and populations near settlements and logging roads can be reduced or eliminated while the range map stays unchanged.

## Why is the grey cuscus important to archaeology?
Its remains appear on islands it could not have reached unaided, in deposits around 20,000 years old. That is evidence of people deliberately transporting a mammal to a new island, and it is among the earliest documented human translocations of an animal anywhere in the world.

## Are northern common cuscus dangerous?
Northern Common Cuscus are not generally dangerous to people. The grey cuscus (Phalanger orientalis) is a slow, nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial of New Guinea and nearby islands; it is a possum rather than a primate, and archaeological evidence shows people were deliberately moving it between islands around 20,000 years ago. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do northern common cuscus live?
Northern Common Cuscus typically live 000 years. The grey cuscus (Phalanger orientalis) is a slow, nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial of New Guinea and nearby islands; it is a possum rather than a primate, and archaeological evidence shows people were deliberately moving it between islands around 20,000 years ago. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a northern common cuscus?
A Northern Common Cuscus is about 35–45 cm. The grey cuscus (Phalanger orientalis) is a slow, nocturnal, tree-dwelling marsupial of New Guinea and nearby islands; it is a possum rather than a primate, and archaeological evidence shows people were deliberately moving it between islands around 20,000 years ago. Conservation status: Hunting for meat and fur; logging and forest conversion.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/king-bird-of-paradise): King Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch.

## Introduction
The king bird-of-paradise is the smallest member of the most extravagantly ornamented bird family on Earth. The male is about 16 centimetres long — smaller than a starling — and is a deep glossy crimson above and white below, with a band of iridescent green across the chest, fans of grey plumes tipped in emerald along each flank, and two bare tail wires each ending in a coiled disc of green.

The display is stranger than the plumage. He calls from a chosen perch, spreads the flank fans into two shimmering discs, vibrates his wings, and then swings beneath the branch to hang upside down with the tail wires circling above him. Females, as in most of the family, are plain brown and choose among males on the strength of the performance.

## Takeaway
The king bird-of-paradise is the smallest of roughly 45 species in the family Paradisaeidae, at about 16 cm excluding the tail wires.

## Takeaway
Only the male is ornamented. Females are plain brown, which is typical of the family and is what makes the extreme male plumage possible.

## Takeaway
The male's display ends with him hanging upside down beneath his perch, flank fans spread and tail wires circling above.

## Takeaway
Birds-of-paradise are corvids' close relatives — the family sits near crows, jays and magpies rather than near any tropical group they resemble.

## Takeaway
Extreme male ornament evolves where females raise young alone and choose mates purely on display, so there is no cost to a male being conspicuous once he has mated.

## Takeaway
The nineteenth-century plume trade killed birds-of-paradise in enormous numbers for the European and American hat industry, and the family's protection dates from the campaigns that ended it.

## Why are birds-of-paradise so ornate?
Because the females do all the work. In most bird-of-paradise species the female builds the nest, incubates the eggs and raises the chicks without help. A male contributes nothing after mating, which frees him from every constraint that keeps other male birds inconspicuous — he does not need to avoid drawing predators to a nest, and he does not need to be a competent parent.

What remains is a single selective pressure: be chosen. Over long periods that produces runaway sexual selection, in which female preference and male ornament escalate together. The result across the family is plumes, wires, capes, iridescent breast shields and displays that involve clearing a stage on the forest floor, dancing, transforming shape or hanging upside down. New Guinea also has relatively few large predators and abundant year-round fruit, which lowers the cost of being conspicuous and of carrying ornaments that make flying harder. Isolation on separate mountain ranges then let the process run independently many times over.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/king-bird-of-paradise): King Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## The display
A male king bird-of-paradise defends a display perch in the mid-storey and advertises with a loud call. When a female arrives he begins a fixed sequence: he raises and spreads the grey flank plumes into two fans, exposing the emerald tips so they catch the light as flat shimmering discs, then vibrates his wings and puffs the green breast band.

The finale is the part that separates him from his relatives. He swings down beneath the branch and hangs upside down by his feet, body swaying, while the two wire tail feathers with their coiled green discs circle above him. The female inspects from close range. If she is unimpressed she leaves, and he resumes calling. She will build the nest, incubate and rear the young alone.

## The plume trade
Bird-of-paradise skins reached Europe long before live birds did, and because traders removed the feet before export, early naturalists believed the birds never landed — hence the genus name Paradisaea and the persistent legend that they lived permanently in the air. The name of one species, apoda, still means 'footless'.

The damage came later. Through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the fashion for feathered hats consumed bird-of-paradise plumes on an industrial scale, and tens of thousands of skins a year passed through the London and Paris markets. Populations of the most sought-after species were seriously depleted. The trade was ended by legislation driven by early conservation campaigners — the same movement that produced the first bird protection laws in Britain and the United States. Birds-of-paradise are now protected across their range, with traditional use by Papuan communities, for whom the plumes carry long-standing ceremonial significance, treated separately from commercial export.

## How is it doing now?
The king bird-of-paradise is listed as Least Concern. It is widespread in the lowland and hill forests of New Guinea and adjacent islands, tolerates some forest disturbance better than several of its relatives, and is not currently a major target of hunting.

The pressure it faces is the one affecting the whole region: lowland forest conversion. Oil palm, logging concessions and mining have expanded across exactly the altitude band this species occupies, and lowland forest is being lost faster than montane forest across New Guinea. Species that live low are therefore more exposed than the more famous montane birds-of-paradise, even where their numbers currently look secure. As with the grey cuscus, a Least Concern listing here describes range rather than trajectory.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education. Birds-of-paradise are among the most photographed birds on Earth and among the least explained — the reason they look the way they do is a specific, well-understood consequence of females raising young alone, and that is more interesting than any photograph of the plumage.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/king-bird-of-paradise): King Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## How big is the king bird-of-paradise?
About 16 cm long excluding the tail wires, making it the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species. It is smaller than a starling, which surprises people who know the family from photographs.

## Why do birds-of-paradise have such elaborate feathers?
Because females raise the young alone and choose mates purely on display. With no parenting role, males face no penalty for being conspicuous, so female preference and male ornament escalate together over time — a process called runaway sexual selection.

## How does the king bird-of-paradise display?
He calls from a chosen perch, spreads his grey flank plumes into two fans so their emerald tips catch the light, vibrates his wings, and then swings beneath the branch to hang upside down with his wire-like tail feathers circling above him.

## What are birds-of-paradise related to?
Crows. The family Paradisaeidae sits close to the corvids — crows, ravens, jays and magpies — rather than to any tropical family they superficially resemble.

## Why were birds-of-paradise almost wiped out?
The plume trade. Through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tens of thousands of skins a year were exported for the feathered hat industry. Populations of the most sought-after species were badly depleted before campaigning ended the trade.

## What do king bird-of-paradises eat?
King Bird-of-Paradises eat 2 — Wire-like tail feathers ending in coiled emerald discs. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch.

## Where do king bird-of-paradises live?
King Bird-of-Paradises live in New Guinea, Aru Islands and nearby offshore islands. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch.

## Are king bird-of-paradises dangerous?
King Bird-of-Paradises are not generally dangerous to people. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do king bird-of-paradises live?
King Bird-of-Paradises typically live Crimson above, white below, green breast band, emerald-tipped flank fans. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/tree-kangaroo): Tree Kangaroo — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Tree kangaroos are around 14 species of marsupial in the genus Dendrolagus that live in the rainforest canopies of New Guinea and far north Queensland; they descend from ground-dwelling kangaroos that returned to the trees, and several species are Endangered or Critically Endangered.

## Introduction
Tree kangaroos are the result of an evolutionary round trip. Early possum-like marsupials lived in trees; their descendants moved to the ground and became kangaroos and wallabies, rebuilt around hopping; and one lineage then returned to the canopy and had to undo a good deal of that specialisation.

The compromises are visible. Tree kangaroos have shorter, broader hind feet than ground kangaroos, much stronger forelimbs, curved gripping claws, and a long tail used as a counterweight rather than a prop. Most importantly, they can move their hind legs independently — something a ground kangaroo cannot do — which lets them walk along a branch instead of being locked into hopping. They still look faintly wrong in a tree, and they are still extremely good at it.

## Takeaway
Tree kangaroos evolved from ground-dwelling kangaroos that returned to the canopy, reversing a major evolutionary transition.

## Takeaway
Unlike ground kangaroos, they can move their hind legs independently, which allows walking along branches rather than only hopping.

## Takeaway
They have shorter broader hind feet, much more powerful forelimbs and strongly curved claws compared with their ground-living relatives.

## Takeaway
They can leap around 9 m between trees, and drop as much as 18 m to the ground without injury.

## Takeaway
The tail is a counterweight for balance rather than a prop for sitting, which is the opposite of how a ground kangaroo uses it.

## Takeaway
Several species are Endangered or Critically Endangered, and at least one — the Wondiwoi tree kangaroo — went unrecorded for over 90 years before being photographed again in 2018.

## Takeaway
Hunting with dogs is the most immediate threat, because a tree kangaroo that descends to move between forest patches has no defence at ground level.

## How do you rebuild a kangaroo for trees?
A ground kangaroo is a specialist. Its enormous hind feet, fused ankle joints and elastic tendons make hopping extraordinarily efficient over distance, but the hind legs move together as a unit and cannot be operated independently, which is why a kangaroo cannot walk in the ordinary sense.

That design is useless in a canopy. Tree kangaroos have partially reversed it: the hind feet are shorter and broader with roughened soles for grip, the ankles allow rotation, and crucially the legs can move separately, which permits a walking gait along a branch. The forelimbs, slight in a ground kangaroo, are heavily muscled and equipped with long curved claws for hauling the body upward. The tail, used by ground kangaroos as a fifth limb to lean on, becomes a long counterweight for balance. What emerges is an animal that climbs competently while still carrying the unmistakable frame of a hopping marsupial.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/tree-kangaroo): Tree Kangaroo — wildlife guide.

## Dropping 18 metres
Tree kangaroos move between adjacent trees by leaping, covering around 9 metres horizontally. Their more remarkable ability is vertical: they can drop to the forest floor from as high as 18 metres and walk away.

The landing works because of loose skin, flexible joints, a low body density relative to their bulk and a controlled posture that spreads the impact through the hind limbs and tail. It is an escape strategy — a tree kangaroo pursued through the canopy can simply leave it. The limitation is what happens next. On the ground the animal is slow and clumsy, and where hunting dogs are present, descending is the point at which it becomes catchable. The escape that works against a canopy predator is precisely the behaviour that fails against dogs.

## Which species are in trouble?
Most of them, though the data are poor. Matschie's tree kangaroo of the Huon Peninsula is Endangered, with a small range and continuing decline. The golden-mantled tree kangaroo is Critically Endangered, reduced to a fraction of its former range in Papua. The Wondiwoi tree kangaroo went unrecorded from 1928 until a mountaineer photographed one in 2018, and is known from a single mountain range.

Three pressures act together. Hunting with dogs is the most immediate, and has intensified as firearms and roads have spread. Logging and conversion to oil palm and mining remove canopy connectivity, forcing animals to the ground more often. And tree kangaroos reproduce slowly, with a single young at a time and a long period of dependency, so populations recover at a pace that cannot match the rate of loss. Several species have never been properly surveyed, which means the assessments understate rather than overstate the problem.

## What is working
The clearest success is community-led. The YUS Conservation Area on Papua New Guinea's Huon Peninsula was established after landowning clans agreed to set aside territory for Matschie's tree kangaroo, pledging land they held under customary tenure. It became Papua New Guinea's first nationally recognised conservation area.

The design matters. In New Guinea the overwhelming majority of land is under customary ownership rather than state control, so conservation that does not have local landowners as the decision-makers has no legal or practical basis. YUS pairs protection with income — coffee and cocoa marketing, health and education services — so that the land set aside is not simply income forgone. It is the model most likely to work anywhere land tenure is customary, and it is why tree kangaroo conservation is discussed as a land-rights question as much as a wildlife one.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including on the models of conservation that actually hold. Tree kangaroos are the clearest case in the region that protection depends on customary landowners choosing it — over 90% of New Guinea's land is held under customary tenure, so an approach that treats communities as obstacles rather than decision-makers cannot work there.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/tree-kangaroo): Tree Kangaroo — wildlife guide.

## What is a tree kangaroo?
A marsupial in the genus Dendrolagus, of which there are around 14 species, living in the rainforest canopies of New Guinea and far north Queensland. They descend from ground-dwelling kangaroos whose ancestors returned to the trees.

## How are tree kangaroos different from ground kangaroos?
They can move their hind legs independently, which lets them walk along branches — a ground kangaroo's legs move together and cannot. They also have shorter broader hind feet, far stronger forelimbs, curved gripping claws, and a tail used as a counterweight rather than a prop.

## Can tree kangaroos really jump 18 metres to the ground?
Yes. They leap around 9 m between trees and can drop as much as 18 m to the forest floor without injury, absorbing the impact through flexible joints, loose skin and a controlled landing posture. It is an escape from canopy pursuit.

## Are tree kangaroos endangered?
Several species are. Matschie's tree kangaroo is Endangered and the golden-mantled tree kangaroo is Critically Endangered. Hunting with dogs, logging and conversion to oil palm and mining are the main threats, compounded by very slow reproduction.

## Where do tree kangaroos live?
New Guinea holds most species, with two found in the rainforests of far north Queensland, Australia. Several New Guinea species are confined to a single mountain range.

## Are tree kangaroos dangerous?
Tree Kangaroos are not generally dangerous to people. Tree kangaroos are around 14 species of marsupial in the genus Dendrolagus that live in the rainforest canopies of New Guinea and far north Queensland; they descend from ground-dwelling kangaroos that returned to the trees, and several species are Endangered or Critically Endangered. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do tree kangaroos live?
A precise wild lifespan for tree kangaroos is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Tree kangaroos are around 14 species of marsupial in the genus Dendrolagus that live in the rainforest canopies of New Guinea and far north Queensland; they descend from ground-dwelling kangaroos that returned to the trees, and several species are Endangered or Critically Endangered. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/palm-cockatoo): Palm Cockatoo — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large black parrot of New Guinea and Cape York that manufactures drumsticks from branches and beats them rhythmically against hollow trees in display — the only known non-human animal to make a tool for producing music.

## Introduction
The palm cockatoo is a large smoky-black parrot with a crest of narrow curved feathers and a patch of bare red facial skin that flushes deeper when the bird is excited. Its bill is enormous — so large that the upper and lower mandibles do not meet, which is why the genus is called Probosciger and why the bird uses its tongue to hold food against the roof of its mouth.

What sets it apart is the drumming. A male breaks off a stick, shapes it to length, grips it in one foot and beats it rhythmically against a hollow trunk, producing a sound carrying up to a hundred metres. Each male drums a signature rhythm that is consistent across performances and distinguishable from his neighbours'. No other non-human animal is known to make a tool specifically in order to produce rhythmic sound.

## Takeaway
Male palm cockatoos manufacture drumsticks, breaking off a branch and trimming it to length before using it to beat a hollow trunk in display.

## Takeaway
Each male has an individual signature rhythm, consistent over time and distinguishable from other males — the closest thing to instrumental music documented outside humans.

## Takeaway
The bill is so large that the mandibles do not meet, so the bird holds food against the palate with its tongue rather than gripping it between the jaws.

## Takeaway
The bare red cheek patch flushes darker when the bird is excited or alarmed, making it one of the few birds with a visible blush.

## Takeaway
It has one of the lowest reproductive rates of any parrot — a single egg roughly every two years, with low fledging success.

## Takeaway
It is listed as Least Concern globally, but the Cape York population in Australia is declining and is a conservation concern, hit by nest hollow loss and fire.

## The drumming
A male selects a branch, breaks it off and works it down to a usable length — typically around 20 centimetres — or alternatively uses a large seed pod. He then grips it in his left foot and strikes it repeatedly against a hollow branch or trunk, producing a resonant knocking that travels up to a hundred metres through forest.

Research tracking individual birds has established two things that matter. The beats are not random: they fall into consistent rhythmic patterns with regular intervals, which is the technical definition of a rhythm rather than a series of noises. And the pattern is individual — each male drums in a way that is stable across performances and distinct from other males in the area. He accompanies the drumming with crest raising, foot stamping and calls, and the whole performance is directed at a female. Some males also drum in the absence of any observer, which suggests the behaviour is not purely for immediate display.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/palm-cockatoo): Palm Cockatoo — wildlife guide.

## Why this counts as tool use
Plenty of animals use objects. Sea otters break shellfish on stones; Egyptian vultures throw rocks at eggs; chimpanzees fish for termites with stripped twigs. What is unusual about the palm cockatoo is the combination of manufacture and purpose.

The bird does not pick up a convenient stick. It selects a branch, detaches it, and shapes it — trimming to a length that works — before use, which meets the definition of tool manufacture rather than tool use. And the purpose is not obtaining food, which is what nearly every other documented animal tool serves. It is producing sound in a social display. That combination, a manufactured object made for an acoustic and social rather than nutritional purpose, is not known in any other non-human species. It is the reason the palm cockatoo appears in the literature on the origins of human music.

## Breeding almost too slowly to survive
Palm cockatoos need a very specific nest site: a large tree hollow with a deep chamber, usually formed where a trunk has broken and the interior has rotted out. Suitable hollows take a century or more to form, and competition for them with other species is intense.

Once a pair has one, the female lays a single egg, and successful breeding attempts are far apart — estimates suggest one fledged chick every two years at best, with success rates in some studied populations well below that. The birds compensate with longevity, living 40 to 60 years and in some records considerably more. That arithmetic works in a stable forest and fails quickly in a changing one. Losing adults, or losing hollow-bearing trees, removes something the population cannot replace on any short timescale — which is why the Australian population's decline matters more than a Least Concern listing suggests.

## The Cape York problem
The species as a whole is listed as Least Concern because it remains widespread across New Guinea. The Australian population on Cape York Peninsula is a different picture and is treated as a conservation concern in its own right.

Three things are eroding it. Changed fire regimes destroy the hollow-bearing trees the birds nest in and prevent replacements maturing, since a hollow needs a century of undisturbed growth. Bauxite mining and land clearance remove habitat directly. And the low reproductive rate means the population cannot absorb either. Nest hollow availability, rather than adult mortality, appears to be the binding constraint — which points to a specific intervention: protecting old hollow-bearing trees and managing fire to let new ones form. That is slower and less visible than most conservation work, and it is what this bird actually needs.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including where the popular framing misses the point. The palm cockatoo is widely shared online as a novelty — the parrot that plays the drums — and the substance is more interesting: a manufactured tool made for a social, acoustic purpose, in a bird that breeds too slowly to absorb the loss of the old trees it depends on.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/palm-cockatoo): Palm Cockatoo — wildlife guide.

## Do palm cockatoos really use drumsticks?
Yes. Males break off a branch, trim it to roughly 20 cm, grip it in one foot and beat it against a hollow trunk in display. Large seed pods are sometimes used instead. The sound carries up to about 100 metres.

## Why is palm cockatoo drumming significant?
Because the bird manufactures the tool rather than picking up a convenient object, and uses it for social display rather than to obtain food. That combination is not documented in any other non-human animal, which is why the behaviour appears in research on the origins of human music.

## Does each palm cockatoo have its own rhythm?
Yes. Studies tracking individual males found each drums a consistent signature pattern, stable across performances and distinguishable from neighbouring males — not random knocking.

## Are palm cockatoos dangerous?
Each male drums a signature rhythm that is consistent across performances and distinguishable from his neighbours'. Give wild palm cockatoos space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do palm cockatoos live?
Palm Cockatoos typically live 40–60 years, sometimes considerably more. The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large black parrot of New Guinea and Cape York that manufactures drumsticks from branches and beats them rhythmically against hollow trees in display — the only known non-human animal to make a tool for producing music. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a palm cockatoo?
A Palm Cockatoo is about About 55–60 cm. The palm cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) is a large black parrot of New Guinea and Cape York that manufactures drumsticks from branches and beats them rhythmically against hollow trees in display — the only known non-human animal to make a tool for producing music. Conservation status: Loss of hollow-bearing trees, changed fire regimes, mining.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/victoria-crowned-pigeon): Victoria Crowned Pigeon — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) is the world's largest pigeon at around 74 cm and 2.5 kg, found on the forest floor of northern New Guinea; it belongs to the same subfamily as the dodo, making it one of that species' closest living relatives, and is listed as Near Threatened.

## Introduction
The Victoria crowned pigeon is the largest pigeon alive — roughly the size of a turkey, deep slate blue, with a maroon breast and an extravagant fan-shaped crest of lacy blue feathers tipped in white. It walks the floor of northern New Guinea's lowland and swamp forests, feeding on fallen fruit and seeds, and flies only when it has to.

Its significance goes beyond size. Crowned pigeons belong to the subfamily Raphinae, which also contained the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire. That makes this bird among the closest living relatives of the most famous extinct animal on Earth, and its situation is uncomfortably familiar: a large, ground-dwelling, slow-breeding, trusting bird on islands where people hunt it.

## Takeaway
The Victoria crowned pigeon is the largest pigeon species alive, at around 74 cm and 2.5 kg — comparable to a small turkey.

## Takeaway
Its lacy blue crest, tipped with white, is unique among pigeons and is raised in display and in alarm.

## Takeaway
It belongs to the subfamily Raphinae, which also contained the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire, making it among the dodo's closest living relatives.

## Takeaway
It is primarily terrestrial, walking the forest floor feeding on fallen fruit, seeds and small invertebrates, and flying up to a branch mainly to roost or escape.

## Takeaway
Like most pigeons it lays a single egg, and both parents feed the chick on crop milk — a secretion produced by both sexes, which very few birds do.

## Takeaway
It is Near Threatened, hunted for meat and for its crest plumes, and losing lowland forest to logging and oil palm.

## Takeaway
It is unusually unafraid of people, which is a large part of why it is easy to hunt — the same trait that features in every account of the dodo.

## The dodo connection
Genetic work has placed the dodo firmly within the pigeon family, with the Nicobar pigeon as its closest living relative and the crowned pigeons of New Guinea also within the same subfamily, Raphinae. The dodo was, in the phrase that surprises people most reliably, a very large flightless pigeon.

That makes the Victoria crowned pigeon more than a curiosity. It is a large, ground-dwelling, slow-breeding pigeon on tropical islands, unafraid of people, laying a single egg at a time. Every one of those traits appears in the account of why the dodo disappeared within about 64 years of European arrival on Mauritius. The crowned pigeon retains flight, which is a real difference — it can escape upward. But its life history offers no more capacity to absorb losses than the dodo's did, and the pressures on it are hunting and forest clearance rather than introduced rats. The resemblance is close enough to be worth stating plainly rather than treating as a novelty.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/victoria-crowned-pigeon): Victoria Crowned Pigeon — wildlife guide.

## A pigeon the size of a turkey
Island environments frequently produce large-bodied forms of otherwise ordinary animals, and New Guinea's crowned pigeons are a clear case. With few ground predators historically, a heavy terrestrial bird was viable, and three Goura species evolved at a size no continental pigeon reaches.

The Victoria crowned pigeon spends most of its time walking, foraging for fallen fruit — figs especially — along with seeds and the occasional invertebrate. It flies reluctantly and usually only upward, to a roosting branch or away from a disturbance. Pairs and small groups forage together, and the birds are notably quiet apart from a deep booming call and a sharp wing clap given in display. Both parents incubate the single egg and both feed the chick on crop milk, a nutrient-rich secretion of the crop lining produced by males and females alike — a trait almost unique to pigeons among birds.

## Why it is Near Threatened
Two pressures, both straightforward. The bird is hunted for meat, and it is exceptionally easy to hunt: large, ground-dwelling, slow to flush and — as observers consistently record — not much bothered by people approaching. It is also taken for its crest plumes, which are used in traditional dress. Hunting has removed it from areas near settlements and along logging roads, so its distribution is increasingly patchy within a range that still looks continuous on a map.

The second pressure is habitat. Northern New Guinea's lowland forest is being logged and converted to oil palm, and this is a lowland species with no montane refuge to retreat into. A single egg per clutch means slow replacement, so local populations that are hunted out do not readily refill. Its Near Threatened listing places it one category away from Vulnerable, and the trend is downward.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including the links between what has already been lost and what is still here. The Victoria crowned pigeon sits in the dodo's own subfamily and shares most of the traits that made the dodo vulnerable, which makes it one of the most direct illustrations available of why the extinct-animals section on this site is not just history.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/victoria-crowned-pigeon): Victoria Crowned Pigeon — wildlife guide.

## What is the largest pigeon in the world?
The Victoria crowned pigeon, at around 74 cm long and 2.5 kg — roughly the size of a small turkey. It lives on the forest floor of northern New Guinea and nearby islands.

## Is the crowned pigeon related to the dodo?
Yes. Crowned pigeons belong to the subfamily Raphinae, which also contained the dodo and the Rodrigues solitaire, making them among the dodo's closest living relatives. The dodo itself was a very large flightless pigeon.

## Can Victoria crowned pigeons fly?
Yes, though reluctantly. They spend most of their time walking on the forest floor and usually fly only upward — to a roosting branch or away from a disturbance — rather than travelling any distance.

## What do Victoria crowned pigeons eat?
Mainly fallen fruit, particularly figs, along with seeds and occasional small invertebrates, all gathered while walking on the forest floor.

## Why is the Victoria crowned pigeon threatened?
It is hunted for meat and for its crest plumes, and it is easy to catch because it is large, ground-dwelling and unafraid of people. Lowland forest clearance for logging and oil palm removes its habitat, and a single-egg clutch means slow recovery.

## Where do victoria crowned pigeons live?
Victoria Crowned Pigeons live in Northern New Guinea, Yapen, Biak and Supiori islands. The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) is the world's largest pigeon at around 74 cm and 2.5 kg, found on the forest floor of northern New Guinea; it belongs to the same subfamily as the dodo, making it one of that species' closest living relatives, and is listed as Near Threatened.

## Are victoria crowned pigeons dangerous?
That makes this bird among the closest living relatives of the most famous extinct animal on Earth, and its situation is uncomfortably familiar: a large, ground-dwelling, slow-breeding, trusting bird on islands where people hunt it. Give wild victoria crowned pigeons space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do victoria crowned pigeons live?
A precise wild lifespan for victoria crowned pigeons is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) is the world's largest pigeon at around 74 cm and 2.5 kg, found on the forest floor of northern New Guinea; it belongs to the same subfamily as the dodo, making it one of that species' closest living relatives, and is listed as Near Threatened. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a victoria crowned pigeon?
A Victoria Crowned Pigeon is about About 74 cm — the largest pigeon alive. The Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) is the world's largest pigeon at around 74 cm and 2.5 kg, found on the forest floor of northern New Guinea; it belongs to the same subfamily as the dodo, making it one of that species' closest living relatives, and is listed as Near Threatened. Conservation status: Hunting for meat and plumes; lowland forest clearance.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/raggiana-bird-of-paradise): Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) is Papua New Guinea's national bird, a lowland species in which males gather at shared display trees in leks and spread long crimson flank plumes; it is listed as Least Concern but faces lowland forest loss.

## Introduction
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise is the national bird of Papua New Guinea and appears on the flag, which makes it among the most politically visible birds-of-paradise even though it is not the most famous in photographs. The male is a deep maroon above and pale below, with a yellow crown, a blue bill and two extraordinary cascades of long crimson flank plumes that he spreads upward during display.

Where the king bird-of-paradise — the smallest member of the family — displays alone from a perch and ends by hanging upside down, the Raggiana gathers with other males at a shared display tree, a lek. Up to a dozen males may occupy adjacent branches on the same tree, each calling, hopping and spreading his plumes while females visit to choose. The contrast is instructive: one family, two display architectures, both driven by the same underlying logic of female choice.

## Takeaway
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise is the national bird of Papua New Guinea and appears on the national flag.

## Takeaway
Males display at leks — shared display trees where several males perform simultaneously while females choose among them.

## Takeaway
The display involves spreading long crimson flank plumes upward and hopping along a branch, unlike the king bird-of-paradise which displays alone and hangs upside down.

## Takeaway
Females are plain brown and raise the young alone, which is typical of the family and explains the extreme male ornament.

## Takeaway
The species occupies lowland and hill forest across much of southern and eastern New Guinea, placing it in the altitude band most affected by logging and oil palm.

## Takeaway
Over 90% of land in Papua New Guinea is held under customary tenure, so protection of display trees and surrounding forest depends on landowning clans rather than on state reserves alone.

## Why leks instead of solo displays?
In a lek, males gather at a fixed site and compete purely through display rather than through territory quality or nest provision. Females visit, inspect several males in succession, and mate with one or a few. The males contribute nothing further.

Lekking is rare in birds generally but appears in several bird-of-paradise genera, including Paradisaea. It concentrates display effort in a place females can find reliably, which matters in dense rainforest where individuals are otherwise hard to locate. It also intensifies competition: a male on a lek tree is judged directly against his neighbours, which may explain why Raggiana plumes are longer and more voluminous than those of species that display alone. The king bird-of-paradise, by contrast, holds a solitary perch and performs a sequence that ends upside down — a different solution to the same problem of being chosen.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/raggiana-bird-of-paradise): Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## The display
A lek tree may hold up to a dozen males, each on his own branch. When a female approaches, males begin calling — a series of loud squawks and rattles — and hop along their branch with wings spread and the long crimson flank plumes raised vertically above the back.

The plumes are the signal. They are among the longest ornamental feathers in the family relative to body size, and their colour is structural as well as pigment-based, shifting with viewing angle in the dim understory light. Females move between males, sometimes perching beside one for close inspection before moving on. There is no pair bond and no male parental care. She will build a nest, incubate and rear the chick alone.

## National symbol, lowland reality
Papua New Guinea adopted the Raggiana as its national bird and placed it on the flag because the plumes carry long-standing ceremonial significance across many Papuan cultures. Headdresses and body adornment using bird-of-paradise feathers remain part of customary practice, distinct from the commercial plume trade that devastated populations in the nineteenth century.

The species is listed as Least Concern because it remains widespread, but the listing describes range rather than trajectory. Lowland forest — the altitude band this bird occupies — is being cleared for oil palm, logging and mining faster than montane forest across New Guinea. Display trees are sometimes left standing when surrounding forest is felled, but a lek tree without connected canopy is useless. The national bird's security depends on forest that is being removed from exactly the elevations where it lives.

## Customary land and display trees
Over 90% of land in Papua New Guinea is held under customary tenure rather than state ownership. That means a government-declared protected area has no force unless the clans who own the land agree to it, and it also means that local decisions about hunting, logging and forest use are made by landowners rather than by a distant authority.

Some communities have long-standing taboos against killing birds-of-paradise or felling known display trees. Others have lost those restrictions as cash economies and logging concessions have expanded. Conservation that works in this context treats customary landowners as decision-makers, not as obstacles — because legally and practically, they are the only people who can protect a lek tree or the forest around it. The Raggiana's political visibility on the flag has not, by itself, translated into secure lowland forest.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including for animals that are national symbols but not secure. The Raggiana bird-of-paradise appears on a flag and in ceremonial dress across Papua New Guinea, yet the lowland forest it depends on is among the most rapidly converted habitat on the island.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/raggiana-bird-of-paradise): Raggiana Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## What is the national bird of Papua New Guinea?
The Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana). It appears on the national flag and its crimson plumes carry long-standing ceremonial significance across many Papuan cultures.

## How does the Raggiana bird-of-paradise display?
Males gather at shared display trees in leks — up to a dozen on one tree — and call, hop and spread long crimson flank plumes upward while females visit to choose. This contrasts with the king bird-of-paradise, which displays alone from a perch.

## How is the Raggiana different from the king bird-of-paradise?
The king is the smallest species at about 16 cm and displays alone, ending upside down. The Raggiana is larger, displays in leks with multiple males on one tree, and spreads long crimson flank plumes rather than hanging from a branch.

## Why are birds-of-paradise so elaborately ornamented?
Because females raise young alone and choose mates on display alone. With no parenting role, males face no penalty for being conspicuous, so female preference and male ornament escalate together over time.

## Who protects bird-of-paradise habitat in Papua New Guinea?
Over 90% of land is held under customary tenure, so protection depends on landowning clans choosing to keep forest and display trees. Some communities maintain taboos against killing birds-of-paradise; others have lost those restrictions as logging has expanded.

## Are raggiana bird-of-paradises dangerous?
Raggiana Bird-of-Paradises are not generally dangerous to people. The Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) is Papua New Guinea's national bird, a lowland species in which males gather at shared display trees in leks and spread long crimson flank plumes; it is listed as Least Concern but faces lowland forest loss. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do raggiana bird-of-paradises live?
Raggiana Bird-of-Paradises typically live Plain brown — no ornament. The Raggiana bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) is Papua New Guinea's national bird, a lowland species in which males gather at shared display trees in leks and spread long crimson flank plumes; it is listed as Least Concern but faces lowland forest loss. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/superb-bird-of-paradise): Superb Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba complex) is a small black bird-of-paradise whose male transforms into a floating oval with an iridescent blue 'face' during display; genetic and behavioural work has split the complex into several species with distinct displays and ranges.

## Introduction
The superb bird-of-paradise is the species behind one of the most widely shared clips in natural history: a male that, in display, reshapes himself into a floating black oval with an iridescent blue breast shield and two bright blue eye-spots — a pattern that reads, unmistakably, as a face. At rest he is a small black bird with a blue crown; in display he becomes something else entirely.

What the clip usually does not say is that 'superb' is now a species complex rather than a single species. Research on display behaviour, calls and genetics has split the former Lophorina superba into several species, including the Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise with a crescent-shaped rather than oval shield. The split matters because each form has a different display and a different range, and treating them as one species obscures both.

## Takeaway
The male superb bird-of-paradise transforms in display from a small black bird into a floating black oval with an iridescent blue breast shield and eye-spots resembling a face.

## Takeaway
The former Lophorina superba is now recognised as a species complex split on display behaviour, calls and genetics into several distinct species.

## Takeaway
The Vogelkop form has a crescent-shaped rather than oval shield and a different display sequence, which was enough to justify separate species status.

## Takeaway
Females are brown and unornamented; they inspect the display from close range on the forest floor where males perform.

## Takeaway
The display involves spreading a black cape of feathers to eliminate the bird's normal outline, a form of shape-shifting rare even among birds-of-paradise.

## Takeaway
Customary land tenure across New Guinea means the forest patches where males display depend on local landowner decisions rather than on protected-area designations alone.

## The shape-shifting display
A male superb bird-of-paradise clears a small area of forest floor and calls from a low perch. When a female arrives he drops to the ground, spreads a cape of long black feathers laterally until they meet above his head, and erects an iridescent blue breast shield with paired eye-spots. The effect is to replace his normal bird outline with a flat, symmetrical oval bearing a vivid blue pattern.

He bobs, hops and snaps his wings while the oval holds steady, the blue shield catching light from different angles. The female watches from centimetres away. If she accepts, she mates and leaves; he resumes calling. The display is one of the most extreme examples of shape transformation in any bird, and it works because the female's visual system is tuned to detect symmetry, contrast and movement within a very specific spatial frame.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/superb-bird-of-paradise): Superb Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## One name, several species
For most of the twentieth century, all populations of this bird were treated as Lophorina superba. Detailed comparison of display behaviour, vocalisations and mitochondrial DNA changed that. The Vogelkop population in the Bird's Head Peninsula performs a different display — the shield is crescent-shaped rather than oval, and the sequence differs — and its call is distinct. Other populations across western and central New Guinea show further variation.

The result is a complex of at least four recognised species, with more splits possible as additional populations are studied. This is not academic pedantry. Each form occupies a different range, may face different threats, and cannot be assessed or protected if lumped under a single Least Concern listing. The viral video most people have seen is specifically the Vogelkop form, which was only confirmed as a separate species in 2018.

## Why transform at all?
Most bird-of-paradise displays emphasise plumage colour and movement. The superb complex goes further by destroying the bird's own silhouette. Spreading the black cape eliminates the cues a predator — or a choosy female — uses to recognise a bird shape, replacing them with a novel geometric form.

That novelty may be the point. Females of many species prefer males whose displays include elements they have not seen before, which drives escalating complexity over evolutionary time. The blue 'face' adds a further layer: eye-spots are a widespread signal in animal display, and pairing them with a symmetrical oval may trigger a response that isolated colour alone would not. The male invests heavily in this performance and contributes nothing to nesting, which is the standard bird-of-paradise bargain.

## Customary land and forest patches
Superb birds-of-paradise display on cleared patches of forest floor within lowland and hill rainforest. Those patches exist because the surrounding forest is intact enough to hold a territory and because local hunting and logging pressure has not removed the trees entirely.

In Papua New Guinea and the Indonesian provinces of western New Guinea, over 90% of land is under customary ownership. A display site on clan land survives only if the landowners choose to keep the forest standing. Lowland clearance for oil palm and logging removes display habitat directly, and unlike lek trees used by the Raggiana bird-of-paradise, floor-display sites cannot be preserved as single standing trees amid cleared land. The species complex as a whole is listed Least Concern, but individual split species with smaller ranges may face sharper pressure than the listing suggests.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including where a famous clip tells only part of the story. The superb bird-of-paradise is widely shared as a single species transforming into a smiley face, but it is now recognised as a complex of several species with different displays — and each form depends on lowland forest held under customary tenure.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/superb-bird-of-paradise): Superb Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## Why does the superb bird-of-paradise look like a smiley face?
In display the male spreads a black cape to form an oval and erects an iridescent blue breast shield with paired eye-spots. The pattern resembles a face, though the resemblance is a by-product of symmetry and contrast selected by female choice rather than mimicry of anything specific.

## Is the superb bird-of-paradise one species?
No. It is now recognised as a species complex of at least four forms, split on display behaviour, calls and genetics. The Vogelkop superb bird-of-paradise, whose crescent-shaped shield differs from the oval form, was confirmed as a separate species in 2018.

## How does the superb bird-of-paradise display?
The male clears a patch of forest floor, calls from a perch, then drops to the ground and spreads a black cape laterally to form an oval. He erects a blue breast shield with eye-spots and bobs and snaps his wings while the female watches from close range.

## Where does the superb bird-of-paradise live?
Lowland and hill rainforest across western and central New Guinea, with different forms occupying different ranges. The Vogelkop form is confined to the Bird's Head Peninsula.

## Is the superb bird-of-paradise endangered?
The complex is listed as Least Concern overall, but individual split species with smaller ranges may face greater pressure. Lowland forest clearance is the main threat across the group.

## What do superb bird-of-paradises eat?
Superb Bird-of-Paradises eat Oval — The shape the male creates by spreading his cape in display. The superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba complex) is a small black bird-of-paradise whose male transforms into a floating oval with an iridescent blue 'face' during display; genetic and behavioural work has split the complex into several species with distinct displays and ranges.

## Are superb bird-of-paradises dangerous?
Superb Bird-of-Paradises are not generally dangerous to people. The superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba complex) is a small black bird-of-paradise whose male transforms into a floating oval with an iridescent blue 'face' during display; genetic and behavioural work has split the complex into several species with distinct displays and ranges. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do superb bird-of-paradises live?
Superb Bird-of-Paradises typically live Plain brown. The superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba complex) is a small black bird-of-paradise whose male transforms into a floating oval with an iridescent blue 'face' during display; genetic and behavioural work has split the complex into several species with distinct displays and ranges. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a superb bird-of-paradise?
A Superb Bird-of-Paradise is about About 26 cm. The superb bird-of-paradise (Lophorina superba complex) is a small black bird-of-paradise whose male transforms into a floating oval with an iridescent blue 'face' during display; genetic and behavioural work has split the complex into several species with distinct displays and ranges. Conservation status: Lowland forest clearance.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/greater-bird-of-paradise): Greater Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is a large lek-displaying species of southwestern New Guinea whose name means 'footless' because traders removed the feet from exported skins; it was among the species most depleted by the plume trade and is listed Least Concern.

## Introduction
The greater bird-of-paradise is the species that gave the entire family its mythology. Its scientific name, Paradisaea apoda, means 'footless bird of paradise', and for centuries European naturalists believed these birds lived permanently in the air, feeding on dew and never touching the ground. The belief was not absurd given the evidence: the skins arriving in Europe had no feet.

The feet had been removed by traders. It was standard practice to cut them off before export, which made the skins easier to pack and reinforced the story that the birds were creatures of the sky. The name stuck. The greater bird-of-paradise is a large, lek-displaying species of southwestern New Guinea and the Aru Islands, the male yellow-crowned and maroon with long ornamental flank plumes — and one of the species most heavily targeted by the nineteenth-century plume trade.

## Takeaway
The scientific name Paradisaea apoda means 'footless bird of paradise' because traders cut the feet from exported skins, convincing early naturalists the birds never landed.

## Takeaway
The male is yellow-crowned and maroon with long yellow flank plumes, displaying at leks like the Raggiana bird-of-paradise.

## Takeaway
It was among the species most heavily targeted by the nineteenth-century plume trade for the European and American hat industry.

## Takeaway
The king bird-of-paradise — the smallest in the family — shares the same footless mythology, and its genus name Paradisaea preserves the legend.

## Takeaway
Females are plain brown and raise young alone; the male's ornament exists purely for display.

## Takeaway
Customary land tenure across New Guinea means protection of lek trees and lowland forest depends on landowning clans, not on state reserves alone.

## The footless myth
When the first bird-of-paradise skins reached Europe in the sixteenth century, they arrived without feet and often without wings. Traders in the Moluccas removed both to make the skins easier to transport and to preserve a market story: these were birds of the gods, born in paradise, living on dew and fragrance, too pure to touch the earth.

The story was profitable and it was wrong. Birds-of-paradise are entirely terrestrial in their habits — they nest in trees, display on branches and forage in the canopy like any other forest bird. Linnaeus named this species apoda, footless, from the evidence in front of him. The name of the genus, Paradisaea, and the family legend both flow from the same trade practice. The king bird-of-paradise, the smallest member of the family, carries the same genus name and the same history.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/greater-bird-of-paradise): Greater Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## The plume trade
Through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the fashion for feathered hats drove an industrial harvest of bird-of-paradise skins. Greater birds-of-paradise, with their long yellow flank plumes, were among the most sought-after. Tens of thousands of skins a year passed through London and Paris markets at the trade's peak.

Populations of the most heavily targeted species were seriously depleted before campaigning and legislation ended the commercial export. Birds-of-paradise are now protected across their range, with traditional ceremonial use by Papuan communities treated separately from commercial trade. The greater bird-of-paradise recovered broadly enough to hold a Least Concern listing, but the plume trade is the reason the family is protected by CITES Appendix II and why export of wild skins remains illegal.

## The lek display
Male greater birds-of-paradise gather at lek trees in the canopy, calling and spreading their long yellow flank plumes upward while females visit to inspect and choose. The display architecture is similar to the Raggiana bird-of-paradise — a shared tree, multiple males, female choice — though the plumes are yellow rather than crimson and the species occupies southwestern New Guinea and the Aru Islands rather than the east.

Each male holds a position on the lek tree and performs when females approach. There is no territorial defence of feeding areas and no male parental care. The investment is entirely in plumage and performance. Females build nests, incubate and rear chicks alone.

## Customary land and lowland forest
The greater bird-of-paradise occupies lowland and hill forest in southwestern New Guinea and the Aru Islands — the altitude band where oil palm, logging and mining are expanding fastest. Lek trees are sometimes spared when surrounding forest is felled, but a display tree without connected canopy cannot support lekking behaviour.

Over 90% of land in Papua New Guinea is held under customary tenure. Protection of lek sites depends on landowning clans choosing to retain forest, and some communities maintain taboos against killing birds-of-paradise or felling known display trees. Where those restrictions have weakened under commercial pressure, lek trees fall with the forest around them. A Least Concern listing describes the species' remaining range, not the rate at which lowland forest is being removed from it.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including the stories behind scientific names. Paradisaea apoda — the footless bird of paradise — is named for a trade artefact, not a biological fact, and the plume trade that created the myth came close to removing several species from the forest entirely.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/greater-bird-of-paradise): Greater Bird-of-Paradise — wildlife guide.

## Why is it called the footless bird of paradise?
Because traders cut the feet from exported skins, and early European naturalists concluded the birds never landed. Linnaeus named the species apoda, Greek for footless, from those skin specimens. The birds have feet and use them normally.

## Was the greater bird-of-paradise hunted for feathers?
Yes. It was among the species most heavily targeted by the nineteenth-century plume trade. Tens of thousands of skins a year were exported for the feathered hat industry before legislation ended the commercial trade.

## How does the greater bird-of-paradise display?
Males gather at lek trees and call, hop and spread long yellow flank plumes upward while females visit to choose. The system is similar to the Raggiana bird-of-paradise but with yellow rather than crimson plumes.

## How is it related to the king bird-of-paradise?
Both belong to the family Paradisaeidae. The king is the smallest species at about 16 cm and displays alone; the greater is larger and lek-displays. Both share the genus Paradisaea and the footless mythology created by the skin trade.

## How long do greater bird-of-paradises live?
Greater Bird-of-Paradises typically live Plain brown. The greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is a large lek-displaying species of southwestern New Guinea whose name means 'footless' because traders removed the feet from exported skins; it was among the species most depleted by the plume trade and is listed Least Concern. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a greater bird-of-paradise?
A Greater Bird-of-Paradise is about About 43 cm excluding flank plumes. The greater bird-of-paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is a large lek-displaying species of southwestern New Guinea whose name means 'footless' because traders removed the feet from exported skins; it was among the species most depleted by the plume trade and is listed Least Concern. Conservation status: Lowland forest clearance; historic plume trade.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/queen-alexandras-birdwing): Queen Alexandra's Birdwing — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the largest butterfly in the world, with females reaching a wingspan of around 28 cm; it is known from lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, listed Endangered, and is the only butterfly on CITES Appendix I.

## Introduction
Queen Alexandra's birdwing is the largest butterfly in the world. The female reaches a wingspan of around 28 centimetres — wider than a dinner plate — with brown wings marked in cream and yellow. The male is smaller but more vivid, with iridescent blue-green bands across black wings and a bright yellow abdomen.

The species is known from a small area of lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province in Papua New Guinea. Estimates of its range vary, but it occupies a fraction of the island's forest and has no montane refuge to retreat into. It is listed as Endangered, and it is the only butterfly species on CITES Appendix I — the same level as tigers and rhinos — which prohibits all commercial international trade.

## Takeaway
The female Queen Alexandra's birdwing reaches a wingspan of around 28 cm, making it the largest butterfly in the world.

## Takeaway
It is the only butterfly species listed on CITES Appendix I, which prohibits all commercial international trade.

## Takeaway
The first specimen was collected in 1906 by Albert Stewart Meek, who used a shotgun because the butterfly flew too high in the canopy to net.

## Takeaway
The species is known from lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, within a range that may cover on the order of 100 km².

## Takeaway
The caterpillar feeds on vines of the genus Aristolochia, and loss of both forest and host plants drives decline.

## Takeaway
Lowland forest in the region is held under customary tenure, and protection depends on landowning communities as much as on species-level trade restrictions.

## How big, and why it matters
Butterfly size is constrained by flight mechanics, respiratory efficiency and the need to find mates in sparse rainforest. Ornithoptera birdwings push those constraints further than any other butterfly group, and Queen Alexandra's birdwing sits at the top. Females are substantially larger than males — a pattern called sexual dimorphism — and a wingspan of around 28 centimetres exceeds any other living butterfly.

Size is not merely a record. A larger butterfly needs more host plant, more forest to move through, and more time to develop. That makes it more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than a small generalist. A cleared valley removes not just individuals but the entire conditions the species requires, and a species confined to lowland forest has no higher-altitude refuge.

## The shotgun collection of 1906
Albert Stewart Meek, a professional collector working for Lord Walter Rothschild, obtained the first specimens in 1906 from the Popondetta area of what is now Oro Province. The butterfly flew in the upper canopy, out of reach of a net, and Meek used a shotgun loaded with fine shot — the standard method for high-flying tropical butterflies at the time.

Rothschild named the species after Queen Alexandra, wife of King Edward VII. The type specimens, perforated by shot, remain in museum collections. The method of collection is a reminder that the species was known to science only because its habitat was accessible enough to shoot in, and that accessibility has since become the main threat: the same lowland forest that held the butterfly now faces clearance for agriculture and logging.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/queen-alexandras-birdwing): Queen Alexandra's Birdwing — wildlife guide.

## CITES Appendix I
CITES Appendix I covers species threatened with extinction in which trade must not be permitted for commercial purposes. Every other butterfly on CITES is on Appendix II, which allows regulated trade. Queen Alexandra's birdwing is alone on Appendix I.

The listing reflects both the species' restricted range and a history of collection pressure from insect dealers. Even after trade restrictions, habitat loss has continued to reduce the area of suitable lowland forest. Appendix I protects against export; it does not protect against a landowner clearing forest for oil palm. The binding constraint for this butterfly is habitat, not trade law alone.

## Customary land and lowland forest
The birdwing's range lies entirely within lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, where over 90% of land is held under customary tenure. Protection of remaining forest patches depends on landowning clans choosing to retain them, and on the host vines of the genus Aristolochia persisting within those patches.

Lowland clearance across New Guinea has removed forest from exactly the elevations this species occupies. A species with a restricted range and no montane alternative cannot redistribute as conditions change. Community decisions about which forest to keep and which to convert are therefore the practical front line of conservation for this butterfly, alongside the CITES listing that prevents commercial export.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education, including for invertebrates that carry record dimensions but restricted ranges. Queen Alexandra's birdwing is the largest butterfly alive and the only one on CITES Appendix I, yet its survival depends on lowland forest held under customary tenure in a single province of Papua New Guinea.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/queen-alexandras-birdwing): Queen Alexandra's Birdwing — wildlife guide.

## What is the largest butterfly in the world?
Queen Alexandra's birdwing. Females reach a wingspan of around 28 cm. Males are smaller but more vividly coloured, with iridescent blue-green bands on black wings.

## Why is Queen Alexandra's birdwing on CITES Appendix I?
It is the only butterfly on Appendix I, the highest CITES level, which prohibits commercial international trade. The listing reflects its restricted range, Endangered status and history of collection pressure.

## How was Queen Alexandra's birdwing discovered?
Albert Stewart Meek collected the first specimens in 1906 using a shotgun, because the butterfly flew in the upper canopy beyond net reach. Lord Rothschild named it after Queen Alexandra.

## Where does Queen Alexandra's birdwing live?
Lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, within a range that may cover on the order of 100 km². It has no montane refuge.

## What does the caterpillar eat?
Vines of the genus Aristolochia. Loss of both rainforest and host vines drives decline, and the caterpillar cannot survive on alternative plants.

## Is Queen Alexandra's birdwing endangered?
Yes. It is listed as Endangered, with a restricted lowland range and ongoing habitat loss. CITES Appendix I prohibits commercial trade, but forest clearance under customary land tenure is the primary ongoing pressure.

## Are queen alexandra's birdwings dangerous?
Queen Alexandra's Birdwings are not generally dangerous to people. Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the largest butterfly in the world, with females reaching a wingspan of around 28 cm; it is known from lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, listed Endangered, and is the only butterfly on CITES Appendix I. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do queen alexandra's birdwings live?
A precise wild lifespan for queen alexandra's birdwings is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the largest butterfly in the world, with females reaching a wingspan of around 28 cm; it is known from lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, listed Endangered, and is the only butterfly on CITES Appendix I. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a queen alexandra's birdwing?
A Queen Alexandra's Birdwing is about Around 28 cm — the largest butterfly. Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the largest butterfly in the world, with females reaching a wingspan of around 28 cm; it is known from lowland rainforest in northern Oro Province, Papua New Guinea, listed Endangered, and is the only butterfly on CITES Appendix I. Conservation status: Appendix I — the only butterfly at this level.