This is the first comprehensive, up-to-date monograph on the behaviour, biology, ecology, biogeography and natural history of the most ornate and dramatic group of birds on earth. Following the other volumes in the series the illustrations are first-rate. The 15 colour plates, by the artist William Cooper, depict all 42 species, while the line drawings illustrate many behavioural traits never before recorded.
Preface and acknowledgement; List of colour plates; List of abbreviations; Plan of the book; Diagrams of bird topography; Diagrams of bird of paradise structural morphology; Map showing some more important locations mentioned in the text; Boundaries of the regional maps used in the species accounts of Chapter 9; Part I; 1. The incredible birds of paradise - an introduction; 2. Discovery of the birds of paradise and history of their study; 3. Evolution and biogeography of the birds of paradise; 4. Ecology of the birds of paradise; 5. Reproductive behaviour; 6. Nesting biology and parental behaviour; 7. Birds of paradise in human tradition and culture; 8. Conservation; Part II; Family, subfamily, genus and species accounts; Appendices; References; Index