BIRDS-OF-PARADISE. 



521 



the inner side only, a web of an emerald green color, which is coiled up into a perfect 

 spiral disc. It is a native of New Guinea and the outlying islets surrounding it, 

 frequenting the smaller trees in the thickest parts of the forest, feeding on various 

 fruits, often of a very large size for so small a bird. It is very active on its wing and 

 feet, and makes a whirring sound while flying, something like the South American 

 manakms. 



FIG. 256. Seleucides alba, twelve-wired Paradise bird. 



Wallace did not meet with the six-shafted Paradise bird (Parotia sefilata), which 

 is confined to the main island of New Guinea. It is the middle figure of the plate, 

 from which is at once apparent the feature which has given it its name. The plumage 

 appears at first sight black, but it glows in certain lights with bronze and deep purple. 

 The throat and breast are scaled with broad, flat feathers of an intense golden hue, 

 changing to green and blue tints in certain lights. On the back of the head is a broad 



