BIRDS OF PARADISE 1501 



male removed the decayed portion without being able to reach the grub, when the 

 female would at once come to his aid and accomplished with her long slender bill 

 what he had failed to do. I noticed, however, that the female always appropriated 

 to her own use the morsels thus obtained." Buller subsequently studied the habits 

 of the huia in the bush. The huia never leaves the shade of the forest; and moves 

 along the ground, or from tree to tree, with remarkable celerity, by a series of 

 bounds or jumps. In its flight it never rises like other birds above the tree tops, 

 except in the depths of the woods, when it happens to fly from one high tree to 

 another. The old birds as a rule respond to the call note in a low tremulous whistle 

 or whimper, and almost immediately afterwards answer the summons in person, 

 coming down noiselessly, and almost with the rapidity of an arrow. 



The huia builds its nest in hollow trees, lining it with coarse grasses and bits 

 of coarse herbaceous plants, twined into a basin-like form. A specimen of the egg 

 brought to Buller was of a very delicate stone gray, inclining to grayish white, with- 

 out any markings except at the larger end where there are some scattered rounded 

 spots of dark purple gray and brown; but another specimen is described as pure 

 white, without any trace of markings. The whole of the plumage is black, with a 

 green metallic gloss, the tail being banded with white. Both sexes 'are adorned 

 with large rounded wattles, which are of a rich orange color in the living bird. The 

 bill is ivory white, darkening into blackish gray at the base. The young differ 

 from the adults in having the entire plumage of a duller black, and the terminal bar 

 washed with rufous. It may be added that in the superficial deposits of the North 

 island temains of the huia have been found in association with those of the extinct 

 tnoas. 



BIRDS OF PARADISE 



V 



Family PARADISEID^, 



In spite of their gorgeous plumage, which seems to run riot in the way of 

 exuberance and eccentricity, the birds of paradise, according to the system we are 

 following, are regarded as near allies of the crows, from which they may be distin- 

 guished by the abnormal structure of the toes. Thus, the outermost or fourth toe 

 is inferior in length to the third, which is longer than the second; while the first 

 is very large, and equal to or longer than the third. According to Dr. Sharpe's 

 arrangement, the birds of paradise may be divided into two groups, in the first of 

 which the beak is short and more or less stout, with its culruen shorter than the 

 metatarsus; while in the second it is long and slender, the culmen being longer than 

 the metatarsus. 



These birds, which are represented by nearly fifty species, are almost wholly 

 confined to New Guinea and the adjacent Papuan islands (especially the Aru group), 

 although one genus is found in the Malaccas, while three genera extend to North 

 Australia. Although the females are at best generally plain and ordinary-looking 

 birds, often of a uniform chocolate color, the adult males of all the species are char- 

 acterized by an extraordinary development of plumage, quite unparalleled in any 

 other group. "In several species," writes Mr. Wallace, "large tufts of delicate 



