Birds Of Indonesia
Balinese Painting
Indonesia is home to 17 percent of the world’s known bird species. There also are more endangered bird species here than anywhere else on earth. Sumatra and Kalimantan alone have some 450 species of birds. There are more than three hundred bird species on Bali and Java. In Maluku, signs start to appear of the influence of Australian birds, most noticeably the parrots and cockatoos. There are more than forty parrot species and more than twenty species of the bird of paradise. Only a few of the latter have the gorgeous plumage, which makes them prized for decoration by the natives of Papua and for export. Relatives of the birds of paradise are the bowerbirds, which build intricate woven nests to attract a mate.
The male bowerbird builds a cone-shaped nest more than three feet tall. It also builds a door and a front terrace that are then decorated with flowers and fruit. The hornbill is a cornerstone of the arts and culture of the Dayak tribes of Kalimantan. The rhinoceros hornbill in particular is the dominant image of the area.
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