HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



121 



THE BIRDS OF NEW GUINEA, 



No. II. 

 By GEORGE BENNETT, M.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 



BIRD very little 

 known — except very 

 recently only from im- 

 perfect specimens — is 

 the Superb Bird of 

 Paradise {Lophoriiia 

 aira). It was found 

 by Mr. D'AIbertis in 

 tlie north of New 

 Guinea, about thirty 

 miles from the coast, 

 at an elevation of 3,600 feet above the level of 

 the sea, near Mount Arfak, and feeds upon various 

 kinds of fruits. D'AIbertis says, — "It flies from 

 branch to branch in the forests, uttering a cry of 

 'Nied, Nied,' and from this peculiar note is named 

 by the natives ' Niedda.' " The Six-feathered Bird 

 of Paradise (Parolia sexpennis) has also been until 

 recently only known from mutilated specimens. It 

 is one hundred years since the bird was first 

 figured by Montbeillard, and until about three or 

 four years ago nothing was known of this beautiful 

 species, but a few specimens, roughly prepared by 

 the natives, which existed in some of the great 

 collections of Europe. Even its exact habitat was 

 unknown j but the correctness of the supposition 

 that it came from New Guinea has been verified by 

 D'AIbertis, who found it in a similar locality to the 

 Lophoriiia atm, about thirty miles from the coast, at 

 an elevation of 3,600 feet above the level of the sea, 

 near Mount Arfak. Of this bird, D'AIbertis says, — 

 ' ' I have never found the adult male in company with 

 females or young birds, but always in the thickest 

 parts of the forests. The female and young male 

 birds I have generally found in a much lower zone. 

 This bird is very noisy, uttering a note like ' Gnaad, 

 Gnaad.' It feeds upon various kinds of fruit, more 

 especially on a species of fig which is very plentiful 

 in the mountain-ranges ; at other times I have 

 observed it feeding on a small kind of nutmeg. The 

 No. 150. 



bird is named Corana by the natives. To clean its 

 rich plumage this bird is accustomed, when the 

 ground is dry, to scrape (similar to a gallianceous 

 bird) around places clear of all grass and leaves, and 

 to roll over and over again in the dust produced by 

 the clearing, at the same time cr}'ing out, extending 

 and contracting its plumage, elevating the brilliant 

 silvery crest on the upper part of its head, and also 

 the six remarkable plumes from which it derives the 

 specific name of Sexpennis.^'' I have, by the kind- 

 ness of Mr. D'AIbertis, now before me a beautiful 

 and perfect pair of these birds, male and female, and 

 observe that the plumage of the male glows in certain 

 lights with bronze and deep purple, with the brilliant 

 tints of the emerald and topaz ; over the forehead 

 there is a large patch of feathers of silvery hue, and 

 from each side of the head spring the six feathers 

 from which the specific name of the bird is derived. 

 These are slender wires, about six inches long, with 

 a small oval web at the extremity. 



We now come to a long-billed Paradise Bird, be- 

 longing to the Epimachine section of the group, and 

 forming both a new genus and a new species. It is 

 named by Dr. Sclater Drepanornis Albcrtisi, after 

 its discoverer. This remarkable new form of Para- 

 dise Bird was one of the most interesting discoveries 

 made by Mr. D'AIbertis during his exploration in the 

 island of New Guinea. He shot it at Mount Arfak, 

 and subsequently Dr. Meyer had one brought to him 

 from the same locality. D'Albertis's account of the 

 bird is as follows : — " It is very rare, and many of 

 the natives did not know it, but others called it 

 'Quarna.' The peculiarity of this bird consists in 

 the formation of the bill and head, and in the softness 

 of the plumage. At first it does not appear to have 

 the beauty peculiar to other birds of this class ; but 

 when obser^'ed more closely, and in a strong light, 

 the plumage is seen to be rich and brilliant." 



A "very marked New Guinea form discovered on 

 the continent of Australia, and placed by naturalists 



G 



