21



THE


Hvlcultural flftagasine,


BEING THE JOURNAL OF THE


AVICULTURAL SOCIETY.



Neiv Series —VOL. VII. - No. 1 .—All rights reserved. NOVEMBER, 1908.


THE KING BIRD OF PARADISE.


Cicinnums regius.


By Mrs. Johnstone.


I do not think I shall ever forget the excitement in our

household produced by the first arrival of two King Birds of

Paradise in 1904. They arrived in the autumn of that year, and

were two lovely cocks in glorious plumage and condition. They

were looked at a dozen times a day to make sure they were alive

and well, and I used to waste hours watching their pretty move¬

ments and admiring the smoke grey plumes tipped with vivid

green which, when resting, they spread out like dainty fans from

under the wings. They were admired and envied by all, and

Mons. L’Hoest of Antwerp made a special journey to Rougham

to see them. Finally Mr. Pocock carried them off in triumph to

the Gardens, where they lived, I hope, happily, but not as long

as their successors have every appearance of doing; for four more

perfect specimens it would be hard to find than are at present in

the New Bird House of the Zoological Gardens.*


Mr. Goodfellow, their importer, was successful in obtain¬

ing several pairs; the following year his example was followed

by other importers, who also brought pairs to England. Of these

birds, from what I can hear, not a large number remain alive.


The Zoological Society possess two pairs in perfect con¬

dition, and beyond this, including my own, only three aviaries

possess pairs of these lovely birds; and it is of my own five birds

(two cocks and three hens) I am asked to write a short account.



Most unfortunately the two adult males in the Zoological Gardens have quite recently


died.—E d.



