150 Mr. A. P. Goodwin on the Paradise-birth 



XIV .—Notes on the Paradise-birds of British New Guinea. 

 By A. P. Goodwin, of Lismore, N.S.W. 



In the early part of 1889 I left my home on the Richmond 

 River for the purpose of visiting New Guinea, where I 

 intended to spend a few months in collecting ornithological 

 specimens and in acquiring for myself that knowledge of 

 the feathered tribes which can only be gained by personal 

 observation. 



I arrived at Port Moresby at a very favourable moment, 

 for only a few days after my landing I had an opportunity of 

 joining an exploring party whose object was to reach the 

 summit of Mount Owen Stanley. The leader of the expe- 

 dition was Sir William Macgregor, then Governor or Ad- 

 ministrator of that recently acquired British colony. I 

 gladly embraced the opportunity, and it is sufficient here to 

 say that 1 made the journey along with Sir William as far 

 as Mount Musgrave, where he left some members of the 

 expedition, while he himself, with a few select followers, 

 made a successful ascent of Mount Owen Stanley*. 



On his return to Mount Musgrave I again joined His 

 Excellency on his homeward march, which was also suc- 

 cessfully accomplished. 



During that short and decisive trip into the heart of 

 British New Guinea I was fortunate enough to meet with 

 examples of twelve different species of Paradise-birds, a 

 short account of which will, I think, be interesting to those 

 who have not had the opportunity of seeing these splendid 

 birds in their native haunts. 



Our expedition followed the course of the Vanapa River, 

 on the banks of which we heard the cry of the Twelve-wired 

 Bird of Paradise (Seleitcides niger), but, time not permitting 

 us to go hunting, we did not procure a specimen of this, one 

 of the finest birds of the whole family. The Twelve-wired 

 Paradise-bird inhabits the swampy districts near the coast, 

 where it is not easily obtained. Its call can be heard, at a 



* See Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soe. 1889, p. 005, for an account of this 

 expedition. 



