Birds of Paradise

“My goal is to inspire the world with Birds-of-Paradise to protect their forest habitat,
the still vast rain forests of New Guinea.”
–Tim Laman

WHY THE BIRDS-OF-PARADISE?

Birds-of-Paradise are arguably the world’s most spectacular birds, and examples of evolution by sexual selection creating a mind-boggling variety of forms. As the most widely known species from New Guinea, they are the ambassadors for the conservation this third largest remaining tropical forest in the world. They are also relatively poorly known because they inhabit remote mountains and islands, and thus are ripe for further scientific research and documentation. For all these reasons, exploring the New Guinea region and documenting the Birds-of-Paradise has become one of my long-term projects. There is still so much more to be done! I work closely with my collaborator and co-founder of the Birds-of-Paradise Project, Edwin Scholes, at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Within the Lab of Ornithology, the Macaulay Library houses our globally unique collection of Bird-of-Paradise behavior videos.

This Youtube hit with over 20 million views shows you why Tim and collaborator Ed Scholes embarked on their project to document all the Birds-of-Paraadise.

BoP PHOTOGRAPHY AND FILMING:

Tim Laman is the go-to photographer for Birds-of-Paradise photography and filming. Since 2004, when he first started photography BoP’s for National Geographic, Tim has made over 30 expeditions to the New Guinea region, and continues to make trips every year. He is the first and most certainly the only person to photograph all the species of this remarkable family for his 2012 book with Ed Scholes, and has produced multiple feature stories for National Geographic and numerous other magazines. Tim Laman’s film credits for Birds-of-Paradise include:

Attenborough’s Life in Color – Humblebee Films for BBC1, 2020
David Attenborough: A Life on Planet Earth – Silverback Films for NETFLIX, 2020
Dancing with the Birds – Silverback Films for NETFLIX, 2019
Our Planet: Jungles – Silverback Films for NETFLIX, 2019
Planet Earth II – BBC Natural History Unit for BBC1, 2017
Attenborough’s Paradise Birds – BBC Natural History Unit for BBC2, 2016
Winged Seduction – National Geographic Wild, 2012

With over 40 species to work with, there are endless stories to be told. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have a project that needs to feature Birds-of-Paradise

The Latest Bird-of-Paradise Film Trailer:

Trailer for Tim’s most recent film featuring Birds-of-Paradise

Birds-of-Paradise Book:

The book can be purchased through Tim’s Fine Art Store.

Birds-of-Paradise Prints:

Select Bird-of-Paradise images are now available as fine art prints. Please consider making a purchase of a unique art piece, and supporting our work at the same time.

Explore More:

If you are interested in learning a lot more about Birds-of-Paradise, check out www.birdsofparadiseproject.org, our extensive website at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.