560 The Birds of Paradise. 



which it is captured by the natives, have already been de- 

 scribed at page 536, 



Tlie Red Bird of Paradise offers a remarkable case of re- 

 stricted range, being entirely confined to the small island of 

 Waigiou, off the north-west extremity of New Guinea, where 

 it replaces the allied species found in the other islands. 



The three birds just described form a well-marked group, 

 agreeing in every point of general structure, in their compara- 

 tively large size, the brown color of their bodies, wings, and 

 tail, and in the peculiar character of the ornamental plumage 

 which distinguishes the male bird. The group ranges nearly 

 over the whole area inhabited by the family of the Paradisei- 

 dae, but each of the species has its own limited region, and is 

 never found in the same district with either of its close allies. 

 To these three birds properly belongs the generic title Para- 

 disea, or true Paradise Bird. 



The next sj^ecies is the Paradisea regia of Linnaeus, or King 

 Bird of Paradise, which differs so much from the three pre- 

 ceding species as to deserve a distinct generic name, and it has 

 accordingly been called Cicinnurus regius. By the Malays it 

 is called "burong rajah," or king bird, and by the natives of 

 the Aru Islands " goby-goby." 



This lovely little bird is only about six and a half inches 

 long, partly owing to the very short tail, which does not sur- 

 pass the somewhat square wings. The head, throat, and en- 

 tire uj^per surface are of the richest glossy crimson red, shad- 

 ing to orange-crimson on the forehead, where the feathers ex- 

 tend beyond the nostrils more than half-way down the beak. 

 The plumage is excessively brilliant, shining in certain lights 

 with a metallic or glassy lustre. The breast and belly are 

 pure silky white, between which color and the red of the 

 throat there is a broad band of rich metallic green, and there 

 is a small spot of the same color close above each eye. From 

 each side of the body bene&th the wing, springs a tuft of broad 

 delicate feathers about an inch and a half long, of an ashy col- 

 or, but tipped with a broad band of emerald green, bordered 

 within by a narrow line of buff. These plumes are concealed 

 beneath the wing, but when the bird pleases, can be raised and 

 spread out so as to form an elegant semicircular fan on each 

 shoulder. But another ornament still more extraordinary, and 



