CH. xxxviii.] THEIR FOOD. 395 



the under surface of the body, and is thus a much hand- 

 somer bh'd. The young males are similarly coloured, and 

 as they grow older they change to brown, and go through 

 the same stages in acquiring the perfect plumage as has 

 already been described in the allied species. It is this 

 bird which is most commonly used in ladies' head-dresses 

 in this country, and also forms an important article of 

 commerce in the East. 



The Paradisea papuana has a comparatively wide range, 

 being the common species on the mainland of New Guinea, 

 as well as on the islands of Mysol, Salwatty, Jobie, Biak 

 and Sook. On the south coast of New Guinea, the Dutch 

 naturalist, Muller, foi;nd it at the Oetanata river in longi- 

 tude 136° E. I obtained it myself at Dorey ; and the 

 captain of the Dutch steamer Etna informed me that he 

 had seen the feathers among the natives of Humboldt Bay, 

 in 141" E. longitude. It is very probable, therefore, that 

 it ranges over the whole of the mainland of New Guinea. 



The true Paradise Birds are omnivorous, feeding on 

 fruits and insects — of the former preferring the small figs ; 

 of the latter, grasshoppers, locusts, and phasmas, as well as 

 cockroaches and caterpillars. When I returned home, in 

 1862, I was so fortunate as to find two adult males of this 

 species in Singapore ; and as they seemed healthy, and fed 

 voraciously on rice, bananas, and cockroaches, I determined 

 on giving the very high price asked for them — lOOZ. — and 



