BIRDS THAT NO WHITE MAN HAS SEEN. 45 



do actually exist, and to glean every particular 

 concerning them. 



There is the Magnificent Bird of Paradise ; 

 and well does it deserve the title. It is very 

 rare, and is only found in New Guinea and in one 

 other island. It has a mass of feathers, of a 

 yellow colour, on its neck, which form themselves 

 into a kind of hood or mantle. Its tail-wires are 

 of a rich blue, and form themselves into a circle. 

 In another species, if possible more gorgeously 

 attired, the mantle or hood is yellow, and the 

 breast green. The skin on the head is bare ; but 

 is of a rich blue, with bands of black. Then there 

 is the rarest of the whole family, the Superb Bird 

 of Paradise. We only know it by an occasional 

 smoke-dried specimen, that has come under the 

 notice of the white man. It lives in the central 

 part of New Guinea, beyond his reach or sight, 

 and is very difficult to procure. The natives do 

 not care to take the trouble, and value the bird 

 very slightly. They call it the Black Bird of 

 Paradise, and give no information about its 

 habits. Then there is a bird which has a num- 



