1862.] OF HIS SEARCH AFTER BIRDS OF PARADISE. 159 
of which he had already obtained a specimen on the island of Sal- 
watty on his way to Sorong; so that at this much-vaunted place in 
the mountains, and among the bird-catching natives, nothing fresh 
was obtained. The P. magnifica, they said, was found there, but was 
rare; the Sericulus aureus also rare; Epimachus magnus, Astrapia 
nigra, Parotia sexsetacea, and Lophorina superba not found there, 
but only much further in the interior, as well as the lovely little 
Lory, Charmosyna papuana. Moreover, neither at Sorong nor at 
Salwatty could he obtain a single native skin of the rarer species. 
Thus ended my search after these beautiful birds. Five voyages 
to different parts of the district they inhabit, each occupying in its 
preparation and execution the larger part of a year, have produced 
me only five species out of the thirteen known to exist in New Guinea. 
The kinds obtained are those that inhabit the districts near the coasts 
of New Guinea and its islands, the remainder seeming to be strictly 
confined to the central mountain-ranges of the northern peninsula ; 
and our researches at Dorey and Amberbaki, near one end of this 
peninsula, and at Salwatty and Sorong, near the other, enable me 
to decide with some certainty on the native country of these rare 
and lovely birds, good specimens of which have never yet been seen 
in Europe. It must be considered as somewhat extraordinary that 
during five years’ residence and travel in Celebes, the Moluccas, and 
New Guinea I should never have been able to purchase skins of half 
the species which Lesson, forty years ago, obtained during a few 
weeks in the same countries. I believe that all, except the common 
species of commerce, are now much more difficult to obtain than 
they were even twenty years ago; and I impute it principally to 
their having been sought after by the Dutch officials through the 
Sultan of Tidore. The chiefs of the annual expeditions to collect 
tribute, have had orders to get all the rare sorts of Paradise- 
Birds; and as they pay little or nothing for them (it being suffi- 
ecient to say they are for the Sultan), the head men of the coast 
villages would for the future refuse to purchase them from the 
mountaineers, and confine themselves instead to the commoner spe- 
cies, which are less sought after by amateurs, but are to them a 
profitable merchandise. The same causes frequently lead the inha- 
bitants of uncivilized countries to conceal any minerals or other na- 
tural products with which they may become acquainted, from the 
fear of being obliged to pay increased tribute, or of bringing upon 
themselves a new and oppressive labour. 
I have given this short sketch of my search after the Birds of 
Paradise, barely touching on the many difficulties and dangers I 
experienced, because I fear that the somewhat scanty results of my 
exertions may have led to the opinion that they failed for want of 
judgment or perseverance. I trust, however, that the mere enume- 
ration of my voyages will show that patience and perseverance were 
not altogether wanting; but I must plead guilty to having been 
misled, first by Lesson and then by all the native traders, it never 
having occurred to me (and I think it could not have occurred to an 
one), that in scarcely a single instance would the birds be found to 
