30 PARADISEID.E. 



The adult male of Prince Albert's Rifle-bird is distinguished from the closely-allied . 

 JMagnificent Rifle-bird of New Guinea by its smaller size, and by the oli\aceous wash to the 

 feathers below the golden-green pectoral band. The female of the latter species, too, is very 

 distinct from the continental form, in having the upper parts nearly uniform rufous, and the 

 under parts more broadly and distinctly barred with dusky black. 



Prince Albert's Rifle-bird is confined to the northern portion of the Cape York Peninsula, 

 where it was first found by MacGillivray, and later on in considerable numbers by Mr. J. .\. 

 Thorpe. Specimens were also obtained by the members of the Chevert Expedition, in the 

 same locality, during 1875. Mr. Thorpe, now Taxidermist at the Australian Museum, who 

 had unusual facilities for studying the habits of this species during a lengthened staj' at 

 Cape York, has kindly given me the following notes: — "During my stay on the Cape York 

 Peninsula, in 1867-8, I found Prince Albert's Rifle-bird frequenting the dense brushes in the 

 neighbourhood of Somerset, opposite Albany Island. 1 never saw it in the open forest 

 country inland, or even crossing the grassy belts which intersect the brushes in many places. 

 The females, which are by no means shy, were often met with close to the settlement, 

 but I never shot a fully adult male within two miles of Cape York. Each male has a 

 certain haunt of its own, averaging about two or three hundred yards in diameter. It 

 utters three loud rich notes and finishes off with a fourth mucii deeper in tone. At freijuent 

 intervals they call as a sort of challenge to each other; but when they trespass on one 

 another's domain, and meet, they have a pitched battle. The males are \ery wary, and 

 it is almost impossible to stalk them, but being of a jealous nature they will come readily 

 on imitating their call within or near their haunts, usually approaching in an excited 

 manner, the peculiar noise made by their wings being distinctly heard as they come within 

 range. I have an idea that they are polygamous, as the few I have been able to stalk, 

 when they would not respond to my answering call, I found were accompanied or surrounded 

 by several females. On one occasion I heard a male calling frequently, and finding my 

 notes in answer would not allure him, 1 managed after some time to carefully approach 

 within about thirty-five yards of the place where lie was calling. From there I could see 

 him running up and down a partially fallen tree, held in position by some vines, and so intent 

 on showing off his beauty to an admiring bevy of females that he did not heed my coming. 

 After watching for a while his graceful and sometimes grotesque moxements, I fired, and he 

 fell; several females at the same time darting into the scrub. When I went to pick the bird up, 

 I found two females dead beside him. During the moulting season, the males lose nearly 

 the whole of their body feathers, and they look wretched objects for a few weeks, but 

 soon assume their beautiful plumage again. The stomachs of those I examined contained 

 insects and berries. Altogether one hundred and six fully adult males and eighty females 

 and immature young males were obtained during my seventeen months' stay there." 



From Somerset, Mr. Robert L. Jardine has kindly sent me the following notes: — "Prince 

 Albert's Rifle-bird, although a resident species here, is extremely local in habits, and very shy 

 and difficult to procure. In the early morning it is restless, and almost constantly flying about 

 from tree to tree. The note of the adult male is three deep prolonged whistles, the last being 

 the deepest and richest of all. These birds feed upon insects, and wild berries and fruits, and are 

 particularly fond of a small native fig, which, when very ripe, contains a number of small 

 grubs. In the breeding season, the male is very fond of ' showing off' by dancing on a bough, 

 opening and closing its wings, and making a rustling noise similar to that made by very stiff 

 silk being rubbed together. The proportion of females is very great, perhaps fifteen or twenty 

 to one male. The nesting-place is usually in a Palm or Screw Pine in scrubs, and is generally 

 situated in an angle at the junction of the leaves with the trunk, at a height varying from four to 

 thirty feet from the ground. The nest is a cup-shaped structure, formed very roughly of twigs, 



