Bird-of-Paradise Courtship Dances

With feathers and displays unlike any other birds in the world, the weird and wonderful courtship behaviors of the 40+ bird-of-paradise species are unmatched in the Animal Kingdom. Have you ever wondered how to tell if your crush is really into you? Forget dating other humans--when you're being courted by a bird-of-paradise, he'll never leave you guessing!

This set features three of nature's most impressive Casanovas. Wilson's bird-of-paradise sports a bright blue featherless dome and brilliant green chest feathers that he fans out around his head to woo lucky lady birds. This LEGO version can fan out his chest feathers and bend down to clear leaves from his stage (female birds-of-paradise are very particular about a clean dance floor). His unique curled tail plumes are attached internally via flexible tubes, so they wiggle just like the real thing!

The King of Saxony bird-of-paradise has two highly decorative head plumes that can grow to twice the length of his body. He moves them freely when courting, allowing light to catch their metallic sheen. Like most birds-of-paradise, the King of Saxony also boasts a brightly colored mouth, which is on display when he screams--I mean, sings--to attract a mate (I'm sure it sounds good to other birds). The LEGO version can open his mouth to reveal his aqua gape, and swivel his head plumes in all directions.

The western parotia's claim to fame is his graceful dance. Fanning out his feathers like a long collar, he bobs his silver head, flashes the iridescent feathers at his throat, and dramatically changes his eye color from electric blue to yellow, all while spinning in a clearing as potential mates observe from above. This LEGO western parotia can spread his feathers, move his head, and spin, and you can rotate his eyes to flash between blue and yellow!

Beautiful and bizarre in equal measure, these birds-of-paradise would make a great set for nature enthusiasts and romantics alike. And don't forget, life is short, so if you love someone be sure to channel your inner bird-of-paradise and let them know--by screaming, flailing around wildly, and showing off your weird parts--that's love at its best!

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I've been fascinated by birds-of-paradise ever since seeing them featured in a nature documentary nearly 20 years ago. There is still much to learn about these elusive and unique birds. Growing up, I didn't play with LEGO often and went a good chunk of my life not really thinking about them. Then I married someone who had received nothing but LEGO sets for every single birthday and gift-giving holiday since age 3--and still had most of them! I soon became a huge fan myself (playing with 30 or so gigantic bins of bricks will do that), especially of nature-themed sets. I especially love seeing creative uses of parts designed for something else. As an avid collector of LEGO's flora and fauna lines, I've spent a lot of time dreaming up bird and animal sets, but was inspired to finally build these during a recent Valentine's-themed challenge. My first Stud.io creation, these birds helped me learn A LOT about the challenges and strategies that come with turning an idea into a workable set. I tested the trickier components with real bricks and had a lot of fun digging through bins to find the perfect part for different elements. I had a blast making these birds and hope you enjoy them, too!