This bird-of-paradise in New Guinea sounds like something from another planet
Endemic to the mountain forests of New Guinea, the King of Saxony bird-of-paradise (Pteridophora alberti) is best-known for the flamboyant, mate-attracting efforts of its males. The bird’s courtship displays – which often double as a means of keeping competitors at a comfortable distance – make use of bright yellow breast feathers, wildly waving head plumes and peppy dance manoeuvres capped off with an exceptionally outsized, almost otherworldly bit of squawking. This video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides a rare glimpse into the world of this idiosyncratic little bird, which has proven notoriously difficult to photograph in its rugged natural habitat.
Director: Tim Laman
Websites: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Birds of Paradise Project

videoBiology
For 3 billion years, life was unicellular. Why did it start to collaborate?
4 minutes

videoBiology
Dive deep into an egg cell to see how ageing reboots when a new life begins
2 minutes

videoNature and landscape
Scenes from Aboriginal Australian pottery chart the turn of the seasons
7 minutes

videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes

videoHistory of science
Insect aesthetics – long viewed as pests, in the 16th century bugs became beautiful
8 minutes

videoLove and friendship
What does it mean to say goodbye to a creature that doesn’t know you’re leaving?
13 minutes

videoEcology and environmental sciences
Join endangered whooping cranes on their perilous migratory path over North America
6 minutes

videoLanguage and linguistics
Do button-pushing dogs have something new to say about language?
9 minutes

videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes