Fun Parotia Facts For Kids

 The parotia, which includes Carola's parotia, is a species that is endemic to New Guinea. These birds are known as plumed birds of paradise, exclusively due to their quills which are six in number on top of their heads. The male of this genus are characterized by a plumage that consists of six wired head plumes. These plumes are black and oval-shaped with round tips. These birds are known for their special dance. This dance is also called ballet and the performers are called ballerinas. They dance very similar to a ballerina by spreading out their skirt. The ballerina dance usually consists of the male hopping from one foot to the other. The male also bobs its head from side to side. Carola's parotias are definitely not shy birds. When it comes to making noise and being loud, these birds are masters. This bird has a very loud and alarming call. These birds are highly territorial in nature and as soon as they sense an intruder in their territory, they start giving loud warning calls.

Read on to discover more fun facts about this bird! For more relatable content, check out these mealy parrot facts and kea parrot facts for kids.

What type of animal is a parotia?

The parotia is a type of bird that belongs to the genus of passerine birds, Parotia, in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae.

What class of animal does a parotia belong to?

The parotia belongs to the class of Aves and is one of the birds in the bird-of-paradise family. There are six species of birds in Parotia genus.

How many parotias are there in the world?

The exact population of the parotia is not known as of now but research suggests that these birds have a large range and are distributed to a major area of New Guinea.

Where does a parotia live?

The parotia can be found in mountain forests where the temperatures are low. These birds inhabit regions of the Vogelkop and Wandammen Peninsula of western New Guinea and are not known to migrate too much.

What is a parotia's habitat?

The parotia belongs to the genus of passerine birds (Parotia) in the bird-of-paradise family. These birds are endemic to Indonesia. The parotia or western parotia can be found in the mountain forests of Vogelkop and the Wandammen Peninsula of western New Guinea. Their diet primarily consists of fruits, figs, and arthropods. The western parotia is classified as Least Concern.

Who do parotia live with?

The parotia ideally lives with other birds from the bird of paradise family. These birds include Parotia carolae, Parotia wahnesi, and Parotia lawesii.

How long does a parotia live?

The parotia has an average life span of eight years.

How do they reproduce?

The western parotia, a member of the birds-of-paradise, also shows sexual bimaturism. This means that male and female western parotias become sexually mature at different ages and at different points in time. The female western parotia of this species is thought to begin breeding as soon as it turns two to three years old. The males do not acquire mature plumage, meaning they do not start breeding until they reach the age of four. However, the males of this species will grow adult plumage at a younger age when kept in captivity. The males are polygamous and do not take part in raising the young. The female western parotia typically lays only one or two eggs in each breeding season.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of the western parotia, like the other species of birds-of-paradise is Least Concern.

What does the parotia look like?

Parotias are a genus, Parotia, of passerine birds in the bird-of-paradise family of Paradisaeidae. This western parotia or Carola's parotia is endemic to New Guinea. These birds are known as plumed birds-of-paradise, exclusively due to their quills which are six in number on top of their heads. Males of the genus are characterized by a plumage that consists of six wired head plumes. These plumes are black and oval-shaped with round tips. These plumes consist of a neck collar of black, decomposed feathers that spread into a skirt-like shape. These Carola's parotias have bright or iridescent head and throat markings. They even have a prominent breast shield. The male species of western parotias has an iridescent greenish-yellow breast shield. These birds are known for their special dance. This dance is also called ballet and the performers are called ballerinas. They dance very similarly to a ballerina by spreading out their skirt. The ballerina dance usually consists of the male hopping from one foot to the other. The male also bobs its heads from side to side.

* We've been unable to source an image of a parotia and have used an image of a Victoria's riflebird, from the same family, instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of a parotia, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]

How cute are they?

Carola's parotias belong to the birds-of-paradise family. This family has some of the most fascinating birds in the world. They all have wonderful bright colors and patterns, making these birds, not just the cutest but also one of the prettiest in the world.

How do they communicate?

Carola's parotias are definitely not shy birds. When it comes to making noise and being loud, these birds are masters. This bird has a very loud and alarming call. These birds are highly territorial in nature and as soon as they sense an intruder in their territory, they start giving loud warning calls.

How big is a parotia?

The Carola's parotia is a mid-sized bird and is 11.8-13 in (30-33 cm) in length, smaller than frigate birds and secretary birds.

How fast can a parotia fly?

The accurate flying speed of the Carola's parotia has not been recorded by researchers yet. However, this bird has proved to be a great ballerina over time. They are great dancers. They spread out their skirt and hold their breast shield high and dance with great confidence.

How much does a parotia weigh?

The Parotia carolae is a light weight bird. This bird weighs only 4.9-7.2 oz (140-205 g) and are bigger than western bluebirds.

What are the male and female names of the species?

There are no specific names given to the male and female species of the Parotia carolae. These birds belong to the family of the birds of paradise.

What would you call a baby parotia?

A baby parotia, like any other hatchling, is called a chick.

What do they eat?

The diet of this species primarily consists of fruits and arthropods. This species relishes figs.

Are they dangerous?

Birds-of-paradise are not harmful in any way. This species may get aggressive if intruders enter their territory and they start giving out loud alarming calls.

Would they make a good pet?

Yes, these species are fantastic dancers. They are also abundant in number.

Did you know...

The Parotia wahnesi is another species of birds of paradise that is very similar to the Parola's parotia.

The parotia male and female species is known for its dance and six wired feathers.

This bird's name is pronounced pa-ro-chia.

Which bird is called the queen of birds?

The Carola's parotia (Parotia carolae), known as Queen Carola's six-wired bird-of-paradise or Queen Carola's parotia, is a species of bird-of-paradise.

How to tell female and male parotia apart? 

The only way to tell the female parotia and male parotia is by their appearance. The male species have short erectile blackish frontal head crest from nostril to eye and between eyes, the chin has whisker-like feathers, the throat is paler with even longer whiskers, occipital plumes arise from above and, underparts blackish-brown centrally and dark reddish-brown along sides. The adult female species has brown upperparts with a broad paler stripe above and behind the eye, underparts light brown with dark brown barring and plumage.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds from our jacana fun facts and umbrellabird interesting facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable crested penguin coloring pages.

Second image by Greg Schechter