THE PARADISE FLYCATCHER 



y "^HE cock paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone 



paradisi\ when in full adult plumage, is a 



bird of startling beauty. I shall never 



forget the first occasion upon which I saw 



him. It was in the Himalayas when night was falling 



that I caught sight of some white, diaphanous-looking 



creature flitting about among the trees. In the dim 



twilight it looked ghostly in its beauty. 



It is the two elongated, middle tail feathers which 

 render the bird so striking. They look like white satin 

 streamers and are responsible for the bird's many 

 popular names, such as cotton - thief, ribbon - bird, 

 rocket-bird. But this flycatcher has more than striking 

 beauty to commend it to the naturalist ; it is of sur- 

 passing interest from the point of view of biological 

 theory. The cock is one of the few birds that undergo 

 metamorphosis during adult life, and the species furnishes 

 an excellent example of sexual dimorphism. 



Since the day, some years back, when I first set eyes 

 upon the bird, I determined to learn something of its 

 habits; but I had to wait long before I was able to 

 carry out my determination. It was not until I came 

 to Lahore that I saw much of the species. Here let me 

 say that the capital of the Punjab, unpromising as 



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