BIRDS OF PARADISE 
165 
of the male birds ; some with long delicate trains of flank plumes, 
golden orange or scarlet ; others with shields of glossy green, 
gorgets of fiery copper or ruffs of canary yellow, the females 
being mostly dull brown birds, little resembling their gorgeously 
clad partners. Birds of paradise may conveniently be divided 
into a long and a short-beaked group. 
(1) The long-beaked group {Selcucides, Epiniachus, and other 
genera). The twelve-wired bird of paradise [Sdeucides nigricans) 
is perhaps the finest of the whole family, as will be seen from 
the following account of a magnificent male in full plumage 
which lies before me. The beak is black with a tinge of dark 
green ; the head is covered with short, velvety feathers of a rich 
purple, passing into green on the throat ; back, dark metallic 
green ; wings and tail, rich violet purple ; breast, nearly black, 
shot with green and purple and edged with brilliant emerald 
green changing to purple. Under parts ornamented with rich 
buffy yellow flank plumes, six pairs of which are produced as 
long wire-like bristles curving boldly forwards. This specimen 
was obtained in New Guinea, sixty miles inland, on April 23, 
1896. 
The female has the head very dark brown, almost black ; 
the rest of the plumage above, warm chestnut red ; below, very 
pale yellowish-brown barred with dark brown. 
A male bird of this species was exhibited alive at the 
Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, some years ago. 
The sickle-billed bird of paradise {Epiniachus speciosus) re- 
sembles the twelve-wired bird of paradise in its dark velvety 
plumage, but differs in the long tail and curved beak. Other 
related species are the Epiniachus Meyeri (a fine pair of which I 
recently had the opportunity of examining and photographing) 
and the Epiniachus Elliotti. 
(2) The short-beaked group [Paradisea, Pavotia, and other 
genera). The birds of the genus Paradisea are characterised by 
their long floating flank plumes which form graceful trains of 
feathers, and by the two central feathers of the tail, which take 
the form of long wire-like shafts. 
The great bird of paradise [Paradisea apoda) has been longest 
known, and is a species in great need of protection, as it is being 
exterminated for the sake of its beautiful golden orange plumes. 
So rare has the adult male become that I was recently informed 
that a good museum specimen would readily fetch £'5. I under- 
stand that some measure of protection for this bird has been 
promised in British New Guinea. The lesser bird of Paradise 
(P. minor) closely resembles the preceding and is also a perse- 
cuted species. The Augusta Victoria bird of paradise (P. 
Augustes Victories) is one of the few species of which the eggs are 
known. They resemble those of the rails in appearance. In 
the Marquis di Raggi’s bird of paradise (P. raggiana) the flank- 
plumes are of a beautiful scarlet. 
The red bird of paradise (P. sanguinea), though the plumes 
