264 NEJV GUINEA. [chap. 



discovered species from the D'Entrecasteaux Islands of South-east 

 New Guinea, but the long sub-alar plumes — the cliief ornament of 

 this genus — are in the Eed Bird hardly so much developed. Their 

 colour, however — a deep crimson with snow-white tip.s — is not less 

 beautiful. The cliief peculiarity of the bird lies in the extraordinary 

 development of the two median tail-feathers. In the allied species 

 these are prolonged into two nearly straight wire-like appendages, 

 but in the Eed Bird of Paradise they are ribbon-like in form, much 

 resembling split quills, and hang in a graceful double curve ibr 

 nearly two feet beyond the rest of the tail-feathers. The series of 

 young birds we obtained in Batanta and "VVaigiou enabled us to 

 follow out the development of these curious ornaments. The two 

 middle tail-feathers are at first in no way different from the rest, 

 but presently they begin to elongate, and after a time the web of 

 the feather becomes eroded along the shaft, though still remaining 

 webbed in the form of a little spatula at the apex. This spatula 

 indeed may sometimes be seen in the full, or nearly full, plumaged 

 bii'd. In the process of elongation the now bare shaft becomes thin 

 and widened, though still remaining of a brown colour. Finally its 

 sides gTadually incurve until the quill in section presents a half-cu-cle, 

 and the brown shade turning into a jetty black completes the change. 

 Of the nesting habits of this, as indeed of the other birds of 

 Paradise, we in vain tried to discover anything definite, and though 

 both here and in other parts of New Guinea we offered large rewards 

 to any one who would show us a nest, the eggs and nidification still 

 remam as much unknown as when Peter Heylyn wrote his 

 " Cosmography " and spoke of " the bird called Monicodiata, which 

 ha^dng no feet is in eontinuall motion : and (it is said) that there 

 is a hole in the back of the Cock, in which the Hen doth lay her 

 eggs, and hatch her young ones. I bid no man to believe these 

 Piclations," he writes ; " for my part, I say with Horace, 

 " ' Quodcunqiie ostendis niihi .sic incrediilus odi' " 



P. novce guincoe in the region of the Fly River ; P. raggiana in the south-east penin- 

 sula ; and P. decora in the D'Entrecasteaux group. 



