New Guinean and northern Australian bird of the family Ptilonorhynchidae, order Passeriformes, related to the bird of paradise. The males are dull-coloured, and build elaborate bowers of sticks and grass, decorated with shells, feathers, or flowers, and even painted with the juice of berries, to attract the females. There are 17 species.
Black, red, and green are known as the ‘black liberation’ colours, recalling Jamaican black activist Marcus Garvey. Taken from the arms of Nyasaland, the sun indicates the dawning of a new era. Effective date: 6 July 1964.