490 liLACK-BODIED PAP.ADISE-BIRD. 



the belly are black, with a gloss of violet; the 

 feathers being of a fibrous and somewhat crisped 

 ^appearance : the lower part of the back, that of 

 the belly, and the thighs, nearly white: on each 

 side the upper part of the breast is a band of 

 moderately large, scale-shaped, shining, blue-green 

 feathers, the broadest part of the band being near- 

 est fhe back, the bar narrowing suddenly on each 

 gide^ and terminating in such a manner as scarcely 

 to reach the middle of the breast, or at most, only 

 forming a slight line across that part: the wing^ 

 are dusky, and beneath them, from each side of 

 the body^ springs a vast heap of floating plumes., 

 of a yellowish white colour, and of similar appear^ 

 ance to those of the Great Paradise-Bird, but 

 shorter in proportion: these plumes are so dis- 

 posed as to form on their upper part a kind of 

 semi-cylinder on each side the body: the bill is 

 black, and somewhat longer in proportion. In 

 the specimen which forms the subject of this de- 

 scription there was no appearance of any tail; but 

 from the rump sprang twelve long, naked, sharp- 

 pointed shafts, nearly equalling the w^hole lengtli 

 of the bird, of a black colour, and exhibiting only 

 a very slight appearance of barbs along the sides. 



This bird is probably the same with the species 

 mentioned by Valentyn as having the fore-part 

 black, and the hmd-part white, with twelve slender, 

 crooked, and almost naked tail-feathers. 



An elegant figure of this species occurs in the 

 work of Monsr. Viellot, but he has taken the 

 liberty, as in a former instance, of adding the legs. 



