Living in the depths of the New Guinean rainforest are birds of unimaginable color and beauty. When Europeans first saw the plumes of these fabulous creatures in the 16th century, they believed they must be from heaven and called them birds of paradise. The people of New Guinea make even greater claims. They say the birds possess supernatural powers and magic.
Raggiana bird of paradise (Paradisaea raggiana) male displaying to female at lek, Papua New Guinea, Varirata NPPBS
To find these birds in New Guinea is one of the toughest assignments, and to witness their extraordinary mating displays is even tougher. David Attenborough introduces a young team of New Guinean scientists on a grueling expedition to find and film these Birds of Paradise, the holy grail of wildlife filmmakers.
Nature, Wednesday at 8 p.m. on PBS-HD 6.
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