Enjoyed your input on the factors in Bird of Paradise
evolution, Brent.

I was struck with some of the similarities between
the Birds of Paradise and the Long-tailed Manakins
of Costa Rica (I did an Earthwatch project with them).
The manakins are lek birds, like so many of the
BOPs.

1. Males attain full breeding plumage late in life,
age 6-7 for BOPs, and at 3-4 for Long-tailed
Manakins.

2. The junior males hang around display trees
or areas practicing their skills, often in the
presence of the fully adult males.

3. In spite of having a large selection of fully
adult males with incredible display skills to
choose from, the females tend to select a very
limited number to breed with. In Costa Rica,
David McDonald's research showed there was
usually one hot male per season within his
study area, which might encompass 20-some
active leks. There might be 1 or 2 other
successful but not quite so popular males
active at the same time.

The term "season" is a little misleading here.
Tropical birds can mate and raise young all
year round, although there are probably tie-ins
to the schedules of fruiting trees and other
things still poorly understood (by me at least).
McDonald himself had a season during which
he was able to study the birds, mainly in May
and June.

As you say, Brent, unsuccessful breeding is
an important factor in the evolutionary process
here. Many call, but few are chosen.

Chris Maack
Anchorage, AK
CMaack at compuserve.com