8.2 IMr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on the Birds collected 



the rest of the underparts are of the purest white : the 

 outer tail-feathers are earthy-brown edged with orange-red, 

 while the middle pair, which cross one another, have the 

 bare shafts enormously lengthened, and terminate in a 

 tightly curled disc, golden-green above and reddish-brown 

 beneath. 



These beautiful ornaments are seen to the greatest 

 advantage when the King is displaying, the green-tipped 

 fan-like feathers on the sides and the white feathers of the 

 breast being spread out to form a circular shield in front of 

 the bird, while the green metallic discs of the long middle 

 tail-feathers are erected and waved overhead. An excel- 

 lent description of the display of this species is given by 

 Sir William Ingram in 'The Ibis,' 1907, p. 2.25, with a 

 coloured plate and figures drawn by ^Mr. G. E. Lodge from 

 a living specimen. 



jNIr. Walter Goodfellow made an interesting observation 

 on the habits of this species. While watching some Pigeons 

 on the opposite bank of the river through his glasses he saw 

 a small bird rise from the top of a tree and soar into the air 

 like a Sky-Lark, i^.fter it had risen about thirty feet, it 

 suddenly seemed to collapse, and dropped back into the 

 tree as though it had been shot. It proved to be a King 

 Bird-of-Paradise, and probably this soaring habit is a part 

 of the display not indulged in by captive birds confined in 

 comparatively small cages. 



A Rifle-Bird {PtUorhis magnifica) was fairly common, both 

 on the coast and near the mountains, and its call, consisting 

 of two long-drawn notes — one ascending, the other descend- 

 ing, — might be heard at all hours of the day. Its plumage is 

 mostly velvety black on the head, and upper-parts, but the 

 crown, middle of the throat and chest, as well as the middle 

 pair of tail-feathers, are metallic blue, and a bronze-green 

 band separates the chest from the deep purplish-maroon 

 under-parts. The outer flight-feathers are curiously pointed 

 and strongly falcate, and some of the side-feathers terminate 

 in long, narrow, decomposed plumes. The long, curved bill 

 and the legs are black, while the inside of the mouth is pale 



