The Great Bird of Paradise on the Island of Little Tobago. 341



black (not red or green, as shown in the old books, according to the

imagination of the artist!) Apteryxes do not seem to be at all

incommoded by daylight, although they are so strictly nocturnal ;

the eyes are of a diurnal type, being quite small, as in the Owl

Parrot (also nocturnal)—one would have expected to find large

globular eyes in both birds. The beak in life is dead white, but

in museum specimens may be dark brown—when this occurs it is

due to careless collecting, for if the dead bird is carried head down¬

wards in the usual fashion the delicate capillaries of the beak

become congested with blood, thus imparting a dusky tint to the

beak.


Apteryxes vary in temper, some being quite placid under

examination, others struggle and growl if picked up. When really

angry the bird rears up like a Cassowary, lengthening the head and

neck ; it then kicks savagely forward, raising the foot right up to the

body, and growls—once heard, the curious rough growl of an Apteryx

is never forgotten. The various species may be fed on worms, but

minced meat is a more convenient diet in captivity. In conclusion,

the writer would call attention to the excellent photographs of

Apteryxes, by Gam bier Bolton and others, which have been published

in recent years—especially the “ portrait of a gentleman ” ; i. e.

Apteryx mantelli ) by the above-named observer.


Bridge House ,


Sale, Manchester.



THE GREAT BIRD OF PARADISE ON THE

ISLAND OF LITTLE TOBAGO (Paradisea

apoda).


By Sir William Ingram (with Caretaker's Diary).


I introduced the Great Bird of Paradise on the Island of

Little Tobago eight or nine years ago. The birds were collected in

the Aru Islands, New Guinea.


If one takes a globe of the Earth, and sticks a long pin right

through from Aru to the other side, the point will come out very

near to Little Tobago, so that it can be understood that the Paradise



