Kevin Palmer, Paradise Riflebird - Falling Silence (ANIMAL 2021)

The voice of the Paradise Riflebird (Ptiloris Magnificus) has mostly fallen silent now in some of the forests I visit, other than the occasional call of a territorial mature male. Yet over a number of weeks I had the wonderful opportunity of multiple visits to observe a single colony of very active juvenile males. I see my photography as a chance to reveal natural wonders and here I hoped to capture the frenetic movement, and stances as they performed.  These adolescents repeatedly practiced,challenging one another or making comical fools of themselves as they perfected their ritual dances. All with the expectation of one day being the new dominant male.  Sadly it may never happen for any of them. I have since learnt that there is to be demolition and construction to occur very near where these images were taken.  I fear the small forest area is to be impacted, no female will ever get to see or be seduced by their dances and their voices will forever be silent.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.