- ASPIDISKE (Iota Carinae). Most stars have no proper name; even some bright ones lack them. How they would envy this one, with not one, but THREE, from each of the classic stellar languages. “Aspidiske” (the Greek Iota star in Carina, the Keel of the ship Argo) comes from the Greek, and means “little shield” (referring to a decoration, not a defensive weapon).
- Bird-of-paradise (Wikipedia)
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this family are perhaps best known for the plumage of the males of the species (the majority) which are sexually dimorphic, in particular the very long elaborate feathers extending from the beak, wings, tail or head. For the most part they are confined to dense rainforest habitat. The diet of all species is dominated by fruit and to a lesser extent arthropods. The birds-of-paradise have a variety of breeding systems, ranging from monogamy to lek-type polygamy.