Paradise Bird Ultra High Relief 2 oz silver coin antiqued Fiji 2012

The shown Greater Bird-of-paradise is the largest member in the genus Paradisaea, with males measuring up to 43 cm, excluding the long twin tail wires. The male has an iridescent green face and a yellow glossed with silver iridescence crown, head and nape. The rest of the body plumage is maroon-brown. The flank plumes, used in displays, are yellow at the base, turning white and streaked with maroon. The Greater Bird-of-paradise is distributed to lowland and hill forests of southwest New Guinea and Aru Islands, Indonesia. The diet consists mainly of fruits, seeds and small insects. A small population was introduced by Sir William Ingram in 1909-1912 to Little Tobago Island of West Indies in an attempt to save the species from
extinction due to overhunting for plume trades. The introduced populations survived until at least 1966, but most likely are extinct now. A common species throughout its native range, the Greater Bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.