550 PASSERIFORMES CHAP. 



and Paradigalla ; below the colour is rufous, buff, grey, yellowish 

 or white, with bars, stripes, or chevrons of blackish or brown. In 

 the female of Sclilegelia the bare head is duller than in the male, 

 while a little red and gold shews above ; the hen of Ptilorhynchus 

 exhibits grey-green and brown tints ; the sexes are almost alike in 

 Phony gammus, Manucodia, Lycocorax, and Aeluredus ; in Para- 

 disornis the female has blue wings and tail. Young birds usually 

 resemble their mother; but with regard to their progress to maturity, 

 the elongation and abrasion of the webs of the median rectrices, 

 and the growth of the decorative tufts, the works of Mr. Wallace, 1 

 Dr. Guillemard, 2 and Mr. Eothschild 3 should be consulted. 



Except in the Bower-birds the habits vary but little. Para- 

 dise-birds are lively and active, shy though curious, taking refuge in 

 the thick foliage when disturbed ; small flocks are not unfrequently 

 observed, usually of one species, while for considerable periods the 

 males appear to live apart. Closely wooded hills and ravines are 

 the chief resorts, Falcinellus, Astrapia, Lophorhina, Diphyllodes, 

 and the like preferring the inland heights of New Guinea up to 

 an altitude of about nine thousand feet ; Parotid of that country 

 and Scenopoeetes of Queensland range to about four thousand feet ; 

 but such forms as Cicinnurus, Xanthomelus, Phonygammus, Ptilo- 

 rhis, and the Australian Cat-birds and Bower-birds, occupy lower 

 elevations on the coast or elsewhere. Falcinellus, Astrapia, Para- 

 disea, Parotia, Ptilorhis, Sericulus, and doubtless others, love high 

 tree-tops ; Semioptera, Cicinnurus, and so forth, live nearer to the 

 ground. The brief flight is rapid, though undulating and often 

 heavy; in Cicinnurus it is noisy, in Ptilorhis the sound pro- 

 duced resembles the rustling of silk. Most species hop constantly 

 about the boughs ; Paradigalla often rests on dead trees ; Drepan- 

 ornis, Seleucides, Semioptera, and Ptilorhis, search under the bark 

 for insects, and move about like Creepers. The pugnacious males 

 of Paradisea collect to " dance " on favourite trees at the breed- 

 ing season, when they fly about with elevated and vibrating 

 plumes ; while in the Family generally the cock courts the hen 

 in Pigeon-like fashion, Diphyllodes making meanwhile a complete 

 circle of its expanded mantle- and throat -plumes. Parotia 

 scratches and rolls in the dust like a Fowl. 



The voice may be a shrill reiterated " wake-wake," as in 

 Paradisea; a harsh or sonorous cry, as in Falcinellus, Chlamydodera, 

 1 Malay Archipelago, ch. xxxviii. 2 P.Z.S. 1885, pp. 651-656. 3 Das Tier-reich, 1898, 



