522 NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



recurved band of feathers, whose brilliancy is indescribable, resembling the sheen of 

 emerald and topaz, rather than any organic substance. Over the forehead is a large 

 patch of pure white feathers, which shine like satin ; and from the sides of the head 

 spring the six wonderful feathers. The Italian traveler, Count d'Albertis, was the 

 first naturalist who ever shot a bird of this kind. Let me quote his description of how 

 the bird acted the first time it was seen by an appreciating eye : " After standing 

 still for some moments in the middle of the little glade, the beautiful bird peered 

 about to see if all was safe, and then he began to move the long feathers of his head, 

 and to raise and lower a small tuft of white feathers above his beak, which shone in 

 the rays of the sun like burnished silver ; he also raised and lowered the crest of stiff 

 feathers, almost like scales, and glittering like bits of bright metal, with which his 

 neck was adorned. He spread and contracted the long feathers on his sides, in a way 

 that made him appear now larger and again smaller than his real size, and jumping 

 first on one side and then on the other, he placed himself proudly in an attitude of 

 combat, as though he imagined himself fighting with an invisible foe. All this time 

 he was uttering a curious note, as though calling on some one to admire his beauty, or 

 perhaps challenging an enemy. The deep silence of the forest was stirred by the 

 echoes of his voice." 



It is hard to say which one of the Paradise birds is the most beautiful or the most 

 curious, and want of space will only allow us to mention the names of Wallace's 

 standard-wing (Semioptera wallacii), with two curious long feathers standing erect 

 on each wing; Schlegel's Paradise bird (Schlegelia loilsoni), with a cobalt-blue 

 bald head, ornamented with a cross of velvety black feathers ; the superb bird-of-Par- 

 adise (Lophorina superba), with the bifurcated breast-shield, and the still more ex- 

 traordinary and enormous furcated feather-shield that rises from the lined neck ; the 

 magnificent bird-of-Paradise (Diphyllodes magnified), with a similar but rounded and 

 straw-yellow nape, crest, and a pair of elegantly curved and long filamentous tail- 

 feathers; and finally the metallic black manucodes, remarkable for the subcutaneous 

 convolutions of the trachea, which may even occur in the females. 



In the Epimachina?, long-billed, or sickle-billed birds-of-Paradise, the peculiarities 

 of which are indicated by the name, we find birds not less remarkable in form, and not 

 less glorious and beautiful in colors. We shall only mention the long-tailed Epima- 

 chus speciosus, with the enormous long tail, and a lateral fan similar to that of the 

 king bird-of-Paradise, and the Australian species of Ptilorhis, with a plumage unsur- 

 passed in its velvety softness and the richness of the deep purple of its color. The 

 most beautiful of this group, however, is, probably, the black, yellow, and white, twelve- 

 wired bird-of-Paradise (Seleucides alba), figured in the accompanying cut, and long 

 known to the naturalists in museums, though first met with in the free state by Wal- 

 lace's assistant, Allen, and d'Albertis, whom we quote : " The Seleucides may pride 

 itself on account of its plumage, and the singular shape of twelve of its feathers, six 

 of which, on each side of the breast, diminish into twelve very thin black threads, 

 terminating in a white point. The softness of the feathers of the back makes it very 

 delicate to the touch, like black velvet ; and in a strong light the color of the shield- 

 like feathers on the breast changes from green to bronze and a splendid purple. The 

 bird is so gorgeous that it is perhaps not surpassed by any other of the feathered 

 tribes. The long feathers which cover the lower part of its body are of a very deli- 

 cate yellow color, which, shaded off into white, are of a deeper color on the sides. 

 Seleucides is chiefly frugivorous, although, as an exception, it may sometimes add a 

 little meat to its customary diet." 



