The Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise.



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THE TWELVE-WIRED BIRD OF PARADISE.


By Graham Renshaw, M.D., F.R.S.E.


“ Le manucode a douze filets.”— Audebert and Veillot on the Twelve-wired

Bird of Paradise.


The colour changes which occur in birds as the result of cap¬

tivity are very puzzling ; one might rather call them colour degenera¬

tions, for the new hue seems, as a rule, a poor substitute for the old.

Thus one finds that the Nonpareil loses its rich red colour, this being

replaced after the first moult in captivity by orange, or even yellow.

The gorgeous scarlet Ibis gradually pales in captivity; Linnets lose

the crimson patches on head and breast. Such is also the case—in

this country—with that ornithological gem, the Twelve-wired Bird

of Paradise.


The Twelve-wired Bird of Paradise (Seleueides nigricans ) is

remarkable for its amazing beauty. Even in a dried skin the glorious

metallic hues delight the eye of the naturalist, but to appreciate them

fully one must see the living bird. In the adult male the head is

bronze purple, with the throat and mantle bronze green; the wings

and tail are lovely purplish violet. In addition, there are three sets

of the accessory plumes so usual with this group of birds—namely,

(1) a large, pectoral shield of bronze-black feathers; (2) long, rich

golden yellow Hank-plumes; (3) a series of twelve curved, wire-like

filaments, from which the species takes its name. The female, in

contrast to so much splendour, is soberly garbed in brown.


Unfortunately, this brilliant coloration is liable to become

impaired in captivity; the golden yellow Hank-plumes, which in the

wild bird contrast so handsomely with the violet wings, are liable to

bleacb to a dull yellowish white. One would at first be disposed to

attribute this remarkable phenomenon to exposure to light, as a

similar bleaching is seen in museum specimens which have not been

stored in cabinets. It appears, however, that those kept alive by

Heer van Bruijn Morris retained their normal hue; these were at

Ternate in the East Indies, and practically in their native air, so

probably the bleaching seen in Europe is due to lower vitality caused

by change of climate.



