Parotia

How we longed for this parotia to fly into our collection! The New Guinea Bird of Paradise, to be exact. Her orange wings are considered some of the most beautiful in the world, but that’s not all that’s caught our attention: when she’s happy, she unfolds her feathered cape and dances in cute little circles. Then, she balances on one leg and hangs upside down. She launches into some acrobatic stunts. And pirouettes. The funny thing is that it’s not just during the mating season that she acts like this – she does it all year round, puzzling scientists. Is she simply the Happiest Bird on Earth?