on Birds oj Paradise in the West hidies. 143


on the ship in which the birds were shipped, and who gave him

much assistance in attending to them on the voyage. This man

I engaged to remain as caretaker 011 the Island, and it is his

report on the condition of the birds that I am now sending,

thinking it may be interesting to aviculturists. With respect to

the sex of the birds no reliance can be placed on the discrimina¬

tion of Herold as, from my knowledge derived from keeping

these birds in confinement for several years; it is impossible to

determine the sex until the birds are two years at least in age.

One bird I have, although to all appearance full-grown, I first of

all took to be a hen as it showed no signs of male plumage until

after the second moult, and now, after four years in my possession,

it has no side plumes visible, although under the wings there are

what might be termed small short chocolate-coloured plumes

about four inches long ; however, the bird has the head fully

marked with the yellow colouring of the male, is resplendent

with the emerald green throat, and it has also two long wires.

Perhaps these Paradise birds do not get their full adult long side

plumes until they are six or seven years old, or very likely even

older than that.


The age at which these birds begin to nest is quite un¬

known, but I ought soon to learn from the reports of my care¬

taker Herold ; the uncertainty, however, is whether amongst

the forty-eight birds turned out on the Island there are any

females at all. Out of the large number of specimens of the

Paradise birds of different species I have been able to import

alive into England very few have eventually proved to be hens,

although, when first imported, many of them had the sombre

plumage of the females. Nearly all the apodas that were set free

in Little Tobago had no trace of male plumage, and yet, I expect

most of them may turn out to be cock birds. Recently, Mr.

Pauwels, the Belgian aviculturist, has received from the Aru

islands a consignment of live birds, and I have obtained from

him two apodas , small chocolate birds ; these certainly look like

being females, and they will be sent out to join their compatriots

in the West Indies.


# # %


The following is Herold’s report, which gives the result of

the experiment up to the present time.



