NEW GUINEA AND ITS INHABITANTS. 745 



were also seen and heard, whose spread of wing was estimated at six- 

 teen or twenty feet, and which beat the air with a sound compared to 

 the puff of a locomotive ; but these are found to be only a well-known 

 hornbill of very moderate dimensions. In place of these myths, how- 

 ever, we have some very interesting realities, the most remarkable, per- 

 haps, being the tree-clim.bing kangaroos of rather large size, which, 

 although but slightly different in external form from the jumping 

 ground-kangaroos of Australia, hop about among the larger branches 

 of trees, on the leaves of which they feed. They have a bushy tail, 

 with somewhat shorter hind legs and more curved claws than their 

 allies ; and they afford a curious example of the adaptation of an animal 

 to new conditions of life very different from those for which its general 

 form and structure seem to fit it. Such a modification may, perhaps, 

 be traced to a somewhat recent separation of Australia and New Guin- 

 ea, when the kangaroos which remained in the latter country, not find- 

 ing a sufficiency of herbage for their support in the dense forests, began 

 to feed upon leaves, and ultimately became adapted, with as little 

 change as possible, to a truly arboreal life. The entire absence of 

 beasts of prey would favor this adaptation, as the coincident acquisition 

 of swiftness of motion or powers of concealment is thus rendered un- 

 necessary ; and the tree-kangaroo accordingly remains a slow-moving 

 creature, just able to get its own living, but in all probability quite 

 unable to cope either with enemies or competitors. 



The birds, like the mammalia, are mostly of Australian types, but 

 nevertheless present many peculiarities. Most celebrated of all are the 

 birds of paradise, forming a distinct family, containing more than twen- 

 ty-five different species, all confined to this island and the immediately 

 surrounding lands. These singular birds are really allied to our crows 

 and magpies, but are remarkable for their special and varied develop- 

 ments of plumage. In most cases tufts of feathers spring from the 

 sides of the body or breast, forming fans, or shields, or trains of ex- 

 treme beauty. Others have glossy mantles or arched plumes over the 

 back, strange crests on the head, or long and wire-like tail-feathers. 

 These varied appendages exhibit corresponding varieties of color. The 

 long trains of waving plumes are golden yellow or rich crimson, the 

 breast-shields, mantles, and crests are often of the most intense metallic 

 blue or green, while the general body plumage is either a rich choco- 

 late brown or deep velvety black. All these birds are exceedingly 

 active and vivacious, the males meeting together in rivalry to display 

 their gorgeous plumage, while in every case the female birds are unor- 

 namented, and are usually plain or positively dingy in their coloring. 

 From an unknown antiquity the natives of New Guinea have been ac- 

 customed to preserve the skins of these beautiful birds, and barter 

 them with the Malay traders, by whom they are universally known as 

 " burong mati," or dead birds, because they had never seen them alive. 

 As the natives used always to cut off the feet in order to preserve them 

 VOL. XIV. — 48 



