490 



Ereatfurj? at Datura! } 



and of a greenish colour ; the base being 

 surrounded, for the distance of half an inch, 

 with close-set, velvet-like black plumes, with 

 a varying lustre of gold-green : the head, 

 together with the back part of the neck, is 

 of a pale gold-colour, the throat and fore 

 part of the neck of the richest changeable 

 gold-green : the whole remainder of the 

 plumage on the body and tail is of a fine 

 deep chestnut, except on the breast, which 

 is of a deep purple colour. From the upper 



(PARAUISEA APODA.) 



part of each side of the body, beneath the 

 wings, springs a vast assemblage of ex- 

 tremely long, loose, broad floating plumes, of 

 the most delicate texture and appearance ; 

 in some specimens of a bright deep yellow, 

 in others of a paler hue, but most of them 

 marked by a few longitudinal dark red spots : 

 and from the middle of the rump spring a 

 pair of naked shafts, considerably exceeding 

 in length even the long loose plumes of the 

 sides. This bird is a native of the Molucca 

 Islands and the islands around New Guinea, 

 particularly in the Island of Aroo. Latham 

 mentions that a specimen was once brought 

 alive to England, and it is occasionally 

 brought to Macao in China. 



The chiefs of the countries where they are 

 found use them in their turbans ; and in 

 many parts of the East, as well as in this 

 country, parts of the birds are used by the 

 fair sex as ornaments in their head-dress. 



The ROYAL or KING PARADISE BIRD. (Pa- 

 radisea Regia.) This is supposed to be the 

 smallest of all the Birds of Paradise, measur- 

 ing only five inches and a hali in length, 

 without reckoning the twotail feathers,which 

 are about six inches long. The colour of this 

 bird on the upper parts is a most intense and 

 beautiful red or purplish chestnut ; the bill 

 of a brownish yellow ; the base, as well as 

 the fore part of the head, being surrounded 

 with velvet-like plumes : the throat and 

 upper part of the breast are of a deep pur- 

 ple red, and across the lower part of the 



breast runs a broad gold-green zone, sepa- 

 rated from the red above by a line of yellow: 

 from the green zone or crescent downwards, 

 the body and under wing-coverts are white : 



(PARADICT:A [CIOINNURDS] RESIA.) 



beneath the wings, on each side the body, is 

 a set of feathers of a dusky brown colour, 

 with tips of the richest golden-green, each 

 tip separated from the brown by a bounding 

 line of white. The quill feathers are of a 

 bright orange-brown beneath ; and from 



the upper part of the rump, over the middle 

 of the tail, extend two very long naked 

 shafts, each terminating, in the most beau- 

 tiful manner, in a moderately broad gold- 

 green web, rising from one side only of the 

 shaft, and forming a flat spiral of nearly two 

 convolutions. The legs are moderately stout, 

 and of a yellowish brown colour. This spe- 

 cies is called the King-bird by the Dutch, 

 and said not to associate with other birds of 

 the genus, but to be of a solitary nature, 

 feeding on berries, particularly such as are 

 of a red colour ; seldom, if ever, settling on 

 lofty trees, but frequenting shrubs and 

 bushes. M. Lesson found it alive near 

 Dorey harbour in New Guinea, and his slight 

 observations confirm what we have quoted 

 above from a Dutch author. 



The GOLD-BREASTED BIRD OF PARADISE. 

 (Paradisea [Parotid] sex-setacea.) This 

 beautiful deep black species is a native of 

 New Guinea and Waigiou, and is well named 

 by the French Sifilet, from the six slender 

 feathers, three on each side of the head, which 

 want webs, except at the end, where they 



