Vol. xxiii.] 38 



and the male bird takes no part wliatever either in building 

 the nest or in rearing the young. In the beginning of May 

 a nest was found in the course of coustruction in the fork 

 of a branch about 10 ft. above the ground, on the edge of a 

 small inhabited clearing. It was a very flimsy structure 

 composed of fibre and dead leaves, but twice during the 

 period of incubation the female bird entwined a fresh green 

 creeper negligently about the nest and the fork in which it 

 was placed. Only one egg was laid, and incubation appeared 

 to last 18 days. The young bird was eventually taken and 

 hand-reared and, together with its mother, was brought 

 to England, where both are now living. It proved to 

 be a male, and shows the ochre-coloured bar, which is 

 characteristic of the young of that sex, beneath what will 

 later on be the green throat. The throat and nasal region 

 (which are both green in the adult male) remained entirely 

 bare until the young bird was nearly two months old, although 

 the rest of the body was fully feathered. 



''At the end of May another nest was found in a similar 

 situation to that already mentioned, but it was placed still 

 lower down. In this case also only one egg was laid and 

 after it had hatched the young bird was taken and brought 

 up by hand. The mother was also captured, and both are now 

 in England. This young one also turned out to be a male. 



" On June the 9th a nest of Ptilorhis iiitercedens was found 

 in a small bread-fruit tree. It was placed about 12 ft. from 

 the ground, and the tree stood in the centre of an overgrown 

 clearino-. As a move was being made back to port, the nest 

 and two eggs were taken and the female bird was captured ; 

 but two days after it arrived in England it escaped in the 

 country near to Tunbridge Wells*. This nest^ together 



* [I have just heard from Mr. Goodfellow that the female Rifle-Bird 

 has been recaptured alive. It e;^caped on September the 6th and 

 remained at liberty till November the 18th, when one evening it 

 flew against the window of the rectory at Langton, being attracted by 

 the lights. During that period many of the nights were wet and cold, 

 and recently as many as 17° of frost have been registered ; but the bird, 

 though somewhat thin, was well and in good plumage. This shows 

 what Birds-of-Paradise can stand, and when provided with good food 

 they could no doubt endure even greater cold with impunity.— Ed.' 



