﻿THE 
  IBIS. 
  

  

  SIXTH 
  SEEIE3. 
  

  

  No. 
  XX. 
  OCTOBER 
  1893. 
  

  

  XLIII, 
  — 
  On 
  the 
  Egg 
  of 
  the 
  Empress 
  Augusta-Victoria's 
  

   Paradise-bird. 
  By 
  Dr. 
  A. 
  B. 
  Meyer. 
  

  

  (Plate 
  XIII. 
  ^ 
  

  

  TnoroH 
  Birds 
  of 
  Paradise 
  have 
  been 
  known 
  for 
  centuries, 
  

   and 
  though 
  we 
  are 
  now 
  acquainted 
  with 
  more 
  than 
  fift}' 
  

   species 
  of 
  this 
  most 
  interesting 
  family, 
  we 
  are 
  almost 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  ignorant 
  of 
  everything 
  concerning 
  their 
  nests 
  and 
  

   eggs. 
  It 
  is, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  am 
  aware, 
  only 
  ten 
  years 
  ago 
  that 
  

   the 
  first 
  egg 
  of 
  a 
  Paradise-bird 
  {s. 
  s.) 
  was 
  described 
  by 
  Mr. 
  

   E. 
  P. 
  Eamsay 
  in 
  the 
  ^Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  Linnean 
  Society 
  

   of 
  Xew 
  South 
  Wales' 
  (vol. 
  viii. 
  p. 
  26, 
  1883j, 
  viz. 
  that 
  of 
  

   Paradisea 
  raggiana. 
  To 
  this 
  I 
  was 
  able 
  to 
  add 
  a 
  year 
  later 
  

   the 
  description 
  and 
  figure 
  of 
  the 
  egg 
  of 
  P. 
  apoda, 
  from 
  

   Am 
  (Zeitschr 
  f. 
  ges. 
  Om. 
  1883, 
  p. 
  293, 
  pi. 
  xvii. 
  fig. 
  2), 
  

   though 
  I 
  was 
  not 
  quite 
  sure 
  then 
  that 
  the 
  broken 
  egg 
  in 
  my 
  

   possession 
  really 
  belonged 
  to 
  a 
  Paradise-bird. 
  That 
  this, 
  

   however, 
  was 
  the 
  case 
  is 
  proved 
  by 
  the 
  two 
  eggs 
  which 
  I 
  now 
  

   have 
  the 
  privilege 
  of 
  describing 
  and 
  figuring 
  as 
  certainly 
  

   belonging 
  to 
  Paradisea 
  augustce-victorits*. 
  

  

  The 
  general 
  superficial 
  impression 
  made 
  by 
  these 
  eggs 
  

   calls 
  to 
  mind 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  certain 
  Rails, 
  — 
  some 
  specimens 
  of 
  

  

  * 
  [This 
  species 
  was 
  tirst 
  described 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Cabanis, 
  J. 
  f. 
  0. 
  1888, 
  

   p. 
  119, 
  and 
  is 
  figured 
  op. 
  cit. 
  1880, 
  pi. 
  ii. 
  — 
  Ed.] 
  

  

  SER. 
  YI. 
  VOL. 
  v. 
  2 
  M 
  

  

  