NEW SOUTH WALES. 435 



BIRDS. 



THE R1RD OF PARADISE OF NEW SOUTH 

 WAL£S. 



This elegant bird, which by some is called 

 the Bird of Paradise, and by others the Mse- 

 nura Superba, has a straight bill, with the 

 nostrils in the centre of the beak. The base of 

 the upper mandible has hairs like feathers in- 

 clining downwards, the upper mandible is at 

 the base much like that of the pigeon, The 

 eye is a dark hazle, with a bare space around it 

 of a blue cast. The chin, and a small part of 

 the throat, are of a dark rufous colour : the 

 rest, with the body, of a blackish grey. 

 The rump feathers are longer than those of the 

 body, and more divided. The colour of the 

 wings is dark rufous. The legs and claws are 

 large in proportion to the bird. The outward 

 toe is connected with that in the middle as far 

 as the first joint. The tail is long, and com- 

 posed of three sorts of feathers, of which the 

 upper side is of a dark grey, with ferruginous 

 spots. The first two lower feathers, which are 

 curved in two directions, are beneath of a pearl 

 colour, with several crescent-shaped spaces, of 

 a rich red and black colour. The laminae are 

 unwebbed, rounded towards the extremity, or- 

 namented with a black bar, and fringed at the 

 end. The shaft of the second, also long, is 



