Red Bird of Paradise and Binoculars

In my daily life, I work as birding guide. So, I have a lot of opportunities to explore nature with tourists. I often guide tourists on a birding and snorkeling tours to Raja Ampat.
One of the main attractions of the tours is Red Bird of Paradise. We watch the birds using binoculars. So, in this sketch I make the drawing of the paradise birds and the birding device that I use which is a pair of Visionking Binoculars 10×42mm.

Red Bird of Paradise and a pair of 10×42 mm Visionking Binoculars

So, if you are interested in taking a vacation to Indonesia for birdwatching, and want me to guide you, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.
Please support this blog, by buying some of my artworks in the form of t-shirts, mugs, tota bags, iPhone case, and etc at this link: Charles Roring's artwork

A Couple of Red Bird of Paradise

This is the drawing of A Couple of Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). I often watch these beautiful birds when I guide tourists on a hiking and birding tour in Waigeo island of Raja Ampat. The drawing is now available as prints on various products of redbubble such as t-shirt, mugs, iPhone case, pillows, and etc. Please, have a look at this link: Bird of Paradise Art

Red Bird of Paradise

I made the drawing using Autodesk Sketchbook. In real world, most often, there are several male birds that dance in the top branches of a tree. They compete to win the female Red Bird of Paradise for mating. The courtship dance performance usually occurs in the mornings at 06.00 to 09.00 and in the afternoons from 15.00 to 17.30.
In addition to Red Bird of Paradise, we also see other tropical birds such as Beautiful Fruit Dove, Claret-breasted Fruit Dove, Pink-spotted Fruit Dove, Eclectus Parrot, Palm Cockatoo, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Yellow-faced Myna, Hooded Butcherbird, Rufous-bellied Kookaburra, Beach Kingfisher, Yellow-billed Kingfisher, Common Paradise Kingfisher and a lot more.
Participants of the tour need to bring binoculars in order to watch them. A powerful spotting scope made by Leica, Nikon, or Swarovski can greatly enhance the birding experience. I personally use Visionking roof prism 10×42mm binoculars. They are not the best but good enough for watching birds and other things in distant trees.

10x42 mm Visionking binoculars

For taking pictures, I recommend D-SLR camera with Tamron G2 or Sigma Sport 150-600mm lenses. Bridge camera such as Nikon P1000, Nikon P900, or Canon SX60HS can also produce good quality photos.
If you are interested in taking a birdwatching tour or sketch tour with me in Raja Ampat, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by text message to: +6281332245180.

Red Bird of Paradise doing Pole Dance

I have just made more sketches of Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). The bird can be seen in the forest of Raja Ampat particularly in Waigeo, Gam and Batanta. The male birds like to compete one another by performing courtship dance in top pole-like branches of a tree.

Black and White Sketch Study of Red Bird of Paradise

Red Bird of Paradise

Digital drawing of Red Bird of Paradise

I used pencil and paper as well as colored pencil to study the basic form and colors of the paradise birds. After that, I developed my artwork digitally using Android based Autodesk Sketchbook application, Samsung Galaxy Tab A and its stylus.
I personally like to go back and forth between manual drawing and digital coloring to achieve good result. The final version of this artwork can be seen at this web-page: Red Bird of Paradise.
Also read:
Red Bird of Paradise from Raja Ampat Islands
Vector drawing of Red Bird of Paradise
Male Red Bird of Paradise

Male Red Bird of Paradise

Drawing of male Red Bird of Paradise

I often go to Raja Ampat to guide tourists who want to watch birds in the forest. One of the most important watching targets is Red Bird of Paradise (Paradisaea rubra). The bird lives in the islands of Waigeo, Gam and Batanta. They can be found deep in the forest. We have to wake up at 04.30 to make preparations such as wearing dark green t-shirt and hiking shoes. Before leaving for the observation site, we need to drink some coffee, tea and eat biscuits or bread. 

At 05.00 we usually start hiking to the lek of Red Bird of Paradise. It takes approximately 1 hour to reach it. The footpath is narrow and it is still dark when we walk. We have to use flashlight. Some parts of the path are steep. One hour later, we will arrive at the lek. The light from the rising sun begins to reach the canopy of the forest. It is the time when male Red Birds of Paradise fly to their lek and begin calling their female counterparts. 

I usually bring a pair of 10×42 mm Visionking binoculars. This birding device greatly enhances my birdwatching experience. The tour participants who I guide bring even better binoculars such as the ones that are manufactured by Nikon, Leica or Swarovski. 

When the female Red BOP comes, the male ones will start performing their courtship dances. They compete one another to win the heart of the female Red Bird of Paradise. Sometimes hey fight. The male Red Bird of Paradise that presents the best dance and beautiful feather will receive green light from the female Red BOP for mating. The whole show ends at 09.00. Its the time when we walk back to the beach and return to the guesthouse where we stay.

In my opinion, Red Bird of Paradise is a very beautiful bird. So, it will be nice if I can make some drawings of the bird. I have made some drawings of paradise birds that I upload into my accound in redbubble shop. The drawing in this post was created on 29 July 2019. 

It is now available as prints on various products such as t-shirts, mugs, water bottles, iPhone or Samsung Galaxy skins/ cases, pillows, scarfs, and even spiral notebooks, tote bags, zipper pouch, and laptop sleeve. 

If you are interested in buying some of them, please, visit my redbubble page: Red Bird of Paradise.
If you are interested in visiting Raja Ampat islands to enjoy swimming, snorkeling, as well as hiking and watching Red Bird of Paradise, please, contact me by email to: peace4wp@gmail.com or by whatsapp to: +6281332245180.