Males court by spreading golden flank plumes and long tail wires. The species lives in forests of southern New Guinea and the Aru Islands.
Males have a yellow head, golden flank plumes, an iridescent green throat, and long tail wires. Females are brown.
Male Greater Birds-of-Paradise spread their ornamental feathers and dance during courtship. At one study site in central Papua, Indonesia, researchers recorded two display events at a lek. The tree used for display was a Syzygium about 30 metres tall, with a moderately dense canopy that allowed some sunlight through.
In one event, a young subadult male practised alone on a lek tree. In another, a younger male moved near an older subadult that was dancing. The researchers described the younger bird watching and practising the dance, and noted that practice trees may have a more closed canopy than the main display tree.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
At one central-Papua study site, a roughly 30-metre Syzygium was recorded as the lek tree used by two males. The authors recommend protecting lek trees used for courtship display; their observation comes from one site.