VII 



PARADISEIDAE 545 



and square or rounded, as in many forms ; or mucli abbreviated, as 

 in Cicinnurus. Astrapia stephmiiae has the two median rectrices 

 concave and decurved over; those feathers in the males oi Faradisea, 

 Cicinnurus, Diphyllodcs, Schlegelia, Paradisornis, and Uranornis 

 exhibiting more or less wire-like shafts, which terminate in large 

 racquets in Cicinnurus, smaller discs in, Paradisornis. They are 

 broader, convex above, wavy, and horny in Uranornis, and are 

 curled outwardly in DiphyUodes and Schlegelia, while they cross 

 each other twice in the last, but once in Cicinnurus. Pterido- 

 phora has an extraordinary streamer behind each eye. That these 

 however, are by no means the only remarkable developments, will 

 be seen from the following descriptions of the most striking species, 

 all of which are confined to Papuasia and Australia, except the 

 Moluccan genera Semioptera and Lycocorax. The feathering often 

 extends over part of the bill. 



Manucodia and Phony gammus are the only Passerine birds 

 known to have a convoluted trachea.^ 



Ptilorhis paradisea, the Eitleman-bird,^ is velvety-black with 

 a purple gloss, having the head, throat, and median rectrices 

 green, the abdomen bronzy; the crown - feathers are scale -like, 

 and the silky flank-plumes considerably elongated. P. magnijica 

 is somewhat similarly coloured, with a stiff pectoral shield of 

 metallic green ; lanthothorax and Paryphephorus, with erectile 

 nuchal collars, are near allies. Seleucides ignotus the Twelve- 

 wired Bird of Paradise, which has six long, recurved and filiform 

 appendages to the lax, projecting feathers of each side, is black, 

 with purplish head, wings, and tail, bronzy back, broad erectile 

 breast-plumes margined with emerald, yellow sides and belly. 

 Drepanornis cdhertisi is rufous-brown, with green throat and ante- 

 ocular region, white belly and dusky breast ; the sides of the last 

 exhibit dark-edged bronzy plumes, which can be expanded like a 

 fan, succeeded by long grey decomposed feathers with lilac margins ; 

 and small bluish tufts surmount the bare orbits and post- 

 ocular region. Falcinellus speciosus is black with rainbow-like 

 reflexions; the broad plumes of the sides of the upper breast 

 being banded with metallic blue and green, and having wide tips 

 which open upwards into a fan ; while the long pointed flank- 

 feathers compose similarly coloured tufts. Astrapia nigra, the 



1 W. A. Forbes, P.Z.S. 1882, pp. 347-350 ; Bcddard, Ibis, 1891, pp. 512-514. 



2 Not to be confounded with the New Zealand Rifleman [Acanthidositta Moris.) 

 VOL. IX 2 N 



