556 The Birds of Paradise. 



is shrunk up almost to nothing, the body is much reduced and 

 shortened, and the greatest prominence is given to the flowing 

 plumage. Some of these native skins are very clean, and oft- 

 en have wings and feet left on ; others are dreadfully stained 

 with smoke, and all give a most erroneous idea of the propor- 

 tions of the living bird. 



The Paradisea apoda, as far as we have any certain knowl- 

 edge, is confined to the main-land of the Aru Islands, never 

 being found in the smaller islands which surround the central 

 mass. It is certainly not found in any of the parts of New 

 Guinea visited by the Malay and Bugis traders, nor in any of 

 the other islands where birds of jDaradise are obtained. But 

 this is by no means conclusive evidence, for it is only in cer- 

 tain localities that the natives prepare skins, and in other 

 places the same birds may be abundant without ever becoming 

 known. It is therefore quite possible that this species may 

 inhabit the great southern mass of New Guinea, from which 

 Aru has been separated; while its near ally, which I shall 

 next describe, is confined to the north-western peninsula. 



The Lesser Bird of Paradise (Paradisea papuana of Bech- 

 stein), "Le petit Emeraude" of French authors, is a much 

 smaller bird than the preceding, although very similar to it. 

 It differs in its lighter brown color, not becoming darker or 

 purpled on the breast ; in the extension of the yellow color 

 all over the upper part of the back and on the wing-coverts ; 

 in the lighter yellow of the side-plumes, which have only a 

 tinge of orange, and at the tips are nearly pure white ; and in 

 the comparative shortness of the tail cirrhi. The female dif- 

 fers remarkably from the same sex in Paradisea apoda, by be- 

 ing entirely white on the under surface of the body, and is 

 thus a much handsomer bird. The young males are similarly 

 colored, and as they grow older they change to brown, and go 

 through the same stages in acquiring the perfect plumage as 

 has already been described in the allied species. It is this 

 bird which is most commonly used in ladies' head-dresses in 

 this country, and also forms an important article of commerce 

 in the East. 



The Paradisea papuana has a comparatively wide range, 

 being the common species on the main-land of New Guinen, 



