PAROTIA LA WE SI, Ramsay. 
Southern Six-plumed Bird of Paradise. 
Parotia lawesi, Ramsay, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, x. p. 243 (1885). — Id. Nature, vol. xxxii. p. 288(1885). — - 
Finsch & Meyer, Zeitschr. ges. Ora. ii. p. 375, Taf. xvi. (1885). — lid. Ibis, 1886, p. 243. — D’Hamonv. 
Bull. Soc. Zool. France, xi. pp. 507, 510 (1886). — Sharpe, Nature, xxxiv. p. 340 (1886). — Id. in 
Gould’s B. New Guinea, i. pi. 26 (1887). — Salvad. Agg. Orn. Papuasia e delle Molucche, ii. p. 149 
(1890). — Goodwin, Ibis, 1890, p. 151. 
Parotia sexpennis (nec Bodd.), De Vis, Ibis, 1891, p. 36. 
This species has been named by Dr. E. P. Ramsay in honour of the Rev. W. G. Lavves, a well-known 
missionary in South-eastern New Guinea, who has taken great interest in the natural history of that part of 
the world, and has made some collections of the animals and plants of S.E. Papua. It represents in the 
Astrolabe Range the Six-plumed Bird of Paradise of North-western New Guinea, but differs from that 
species in the colouring of both sexes. 
Dr. Ramsay was acquainted only with the male, but both sexes were discovered by the late Karl Hunstein 
in the Horseshoe Range of the Ovven-Stanley Mountains, and they were figured in the celebrated paper of 
Dr. Otto Finsch and Dr. A. B. Meyer, published in the second volume of Madarasz’s ‘Zeitschrift fur die 
gesammte Ornithologie.’ Afterwards Mr. H. O. Forbes met with the species in the Sogeri district of the 
Astrolabe Range, and during Sir William Macgregor’s expedition into the interior of the Owen-Stanley 
Mountains the Six-plumed Bird of Paradise was found on Mount Belford, at an altitude of from 3600 to 
7000 feet. Mr. De Vis, who has described the collections made during this expedition, does not admit 
the distinctness of P. lawesi from P. sexpenms, and records the southern species under the latter name. 
Mr. A. P. Goodwin, who was one of the naturalists w'ho accompanied Sir William Macgregor, states that 
he first heard the call of Parotia lawesi on Mount Belford at the altitude of 4000 feet. He adds : — “ I did 
not succeed in obtaining a specimen until we had crossed the Joseph River and had ascended Mount 
Musgrave to the same altitude. Here I secured an example of this beautiful bird. Our camp was near one 
of their play-grounds, so I had a good opportunity of watching the bird’s movements. It has a strong 
resemblance to the Silky Bower-bird (Ptilon orhyn eh us holosericeus ) of New South Wales both in form and 
habits. It has a similar bill, beautiful blue eyes, and strong legs, and, like the Bower-bird, is very cautious, 
restless, and swift. It has also a similar flight. Although P. lawesi does not build a bower, still it has its 
play-ground, where a number of these birds (from six to eight) may be found playing together. The play- 
ground may be easily known by the colour of the soil and by the clearance of the surrounding underbrush.” 
The British Museum is indebted to the Hon. Hugh Romilly for a series of skins of this Bird of Paradise, 
and examples of both adult and young birds are now represented in tbe collection. 
Adult male. Similar to P. sexpennis, but a little smaller, and differing in the colour of the metallic 
pectoral shield, which is of a fiery golden lustre, with less green than is sliowm by P. sexpennis. The 
metallic band on the nape is purplish, with steel-blue reflections, with only a faint lustre of green near the 
base, whereas P. sexpennis has the centre of this nape-band green. The silvery white patch on the forehead 
comes to an obtuse point at the base of the bill, forming a triangle on the forehead, whereas in P. sexpennis 
the forehead is velvety black, succeeded by a fan-shaped band of silvery white. Total length 13 inches, 
culmen 1*15, wing 6T5, tail 50, tarsus 2T5. 
Adult female. Similar to the female of P. sexpennis, but rather smaller, more chestnut above, and easily 
distinguished by the colour of the under surface, which is rufous barred with black, whereas in P. sexpennis 
the under surface is silvery grey. Total length 9'5 inches, culmen IT, wing 6T, tail 4T, tarsus 20. 
The young male at first resembles the adult female. 
A pair of adult birds are figured in the Plate, from specimens procured by Hunstein on the Horseshoe 
Range of the Astrolabe Mountains. 
