268 PYGMIES AND PAPUANS 



The Pygmies often brought plumes of the Lesser 

 Bird-of-Paradise (P. minor) to Parimau and traded 

 them with the natives, but the species was not found 

 on the Mimika, the Charles Louis mountains probably 

 forming its southern boundary. 



My account of the display of that species, as witnessed 

 in the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, will be found 

 in the Ihis, 1905, p. 429, accompanied by various 

 drawings and a coloured plate by Mr. G. E. Lodge. The 

 display resembles that of the Greater Bird-of-Paradise 

 (P. apoda) and the Red Bird-of-Paradise (P. raggiana) 

 and no doubt also that of P. novcB-gtUnece. It is a 

 wonderful and beautiful sight to see these birds erect 

 their splendid side-plumes in an arch over the back, 

 which is concealed in a shivering cascade of colour, 

 orange and white, or red according to the species. 



Numbers of the beautiful little King Bird-of-Paradise 

 -/ (Cicinmtriis regins) were brought home in all stages of 

 plumage from the young to the fully adult male, with 

 its scarlet head, shading into glittering carmine on the 

 back and wings and into purplish-carmine on the throat, 

 which is bordered below by a rich dark green band. 

 The sides of the chest are ornamented with fan-like 

 arrangements of grey feathers tipped with ghttering 

 golden green ; the breast and the rest of the under-parts 

 are of the purest white : the outer tail-feathers are 

 earthy-brown edged with orange-red, while the middle 

 pair, which cross one another, have the bare shafts 

 enormously lengthened, and terminate in a tightly 

 curled disc, golden green above and reddish-brown 

 beneath. 



These beautiful ornaments are seen to the greatest 

 advantage when the King is displaying, the green- 

 tipped fan-like feathers on the sides and the white 

 feathers of the breast being spread out to form a 

 circular shield in front of the bird, while the green 



