tERCHmG-BIRbS. 135 



miniature cabin made of different mosses, and surround it with a tiny 

 perfectly-kept meadow of moss, studded with brilliantly coloured flowers, 

 fruits, and insects, which, as they become faded, are constantly replaced. 

 The drawings on the adjoining pillar represent the widely different 

 gardens and bowers of Amblyornis suhalaris (2758 a) [!*!• XXIV.], and 

 A. inornata (2758) \V\. XXIII. fig. 2] . The beautiful " Play-house " of 

 the former species is exhibited in a separate case. It was recently [Table- 

 procured in the Owen Stanley Range, British New Guinea, and was ^^f^y^ 

 received in its present perfect condition. The handsome Green 

 Cat-Birds [^luroedus) (2759), so far as is known, are the only 

 members of the family which do not construct a bower. 



Family XLIII. PARADiSBiDiE. Paradise-Birds, 

 The Birds of Paradise are among the most gorgeously attired [tJentral 



0ftS6 I 



birds, and are confined to the forests of New Guinea and the neigh- 

 bouring islands, as well as Australia. Skins of some of the larger 

 kinds were formerly articles of commerce, and are still exported in 

 some numbers for decorative purposes. About a hundred and fifty 

 years ago it was the custom of the natives, in preparing the skins, to 

 tear off the legs, and sometimes even the wings. The constant arrival 

 in Europe of birds without these natural appendages gave rise to 

 the supposition that Paradise-birds were devoid of them. The male 

 bird was supposed to float about in mid-air, spreading out his 

 long flank-feathers, to form a bower, in which the female built her 

 nest ! Thus it was that, in 1766, Linnaeus actually named the largest 

 form Paradisea apoda (10), or the Paradise-bird without legs. A glance 

 at the structure of the bill and feet will show that these beautiful 

 birds are in all respects extremely similar to Crows, which they resemble 

 in their nesting-habits, their chief characteristic being their fantastic 

 ornamental plumes. A very fine series, including representative forms 

 of almost every genus, is exhibited in the Central Case. The number on 

 each species refers to a special printed list, copies of which are mounted 

 in the Case. 



An interesting preparation of the windpipe of an adult male of the 

 Purple-and-Violet Manucode {Phonygama purpureo-violacea) will be 

 found in the Case. It shows the remarkable convolutions of the 

 trachea between the skin and breast-muscles before finally entering the 

 lungs. The call-note of this species is described as being prolonged, 

 bass, and guttural. 



