1894.] Some Birds of Paradise from New Guinea. 917 
esting book, “ Discoveries in New Guinea,” gives so admirable 
a description of the king-bird of paradise as to deserve quota- 
tion here: 
“This bird," he says, “is as large asa small thrush, the 
back glossy erimson, the head feathers being soft, and deep in 
tone like velvet, the throat crimson, and separated from the 
pure white breast by the wide band of green. It has the long 
wire tail of all birds of paradise, terminating, however, in two 
circular feathers, about the size of a sixpenny piece, of a bur- 
nished green. But its peerless ornaments are two small feather 
fans of intense emerald color, set in the upper joint of the 
wing, and eapable of being spread or folded at pleasure." 
Not unlike the best known of all the birds of paradise, P. 
apoda, is the red-bird, Paradisea sanguinea. It cannot, however, 
be considered as the peer in beauty, its resemblance consisting 
chiefly in the fall of long plumes from the back, giving that 
appearance, so characteristic and so attractive, as of a cataract 
of feathers falling in a maze of wavy lines and spray. Where 
these soft plumes are golden in Apoda the red-bird has a deep 
crimson. Yellow prevails on the head and neck, extending a 
short distance on the back. A yellow band passes across the 
breast, flanked by green and brown. All these tints blend 
into each other, the line of division never being closely marked 
excepting on the throat. A corrugated arrangement of short 
velvety feathers gives a singular appearance to the head; this 
and the long filaments reaching beyond the loose wing plum- 
age serve in making it one of the most striking ornaments of 
the bird creation. 
The size of Sanguinea or Rubra is about that of a robin, 
perhaps a little larger, and its favorite resort the recesses of 
Waigiou Islands. 
Paradisea apoda, the great paradise bird, has become a famil- 
iar object of admiration in museums of natural history and 
collections. In no other bird is the coloring so rich and the 
blending of browns, purple, green and orange so alluringly 
beautiful. Add to this the long, curving fall of plumes be- 
hind, and one of the most entrancing spectacles animate nature 
has to show is vouchsafed. 
