NATURE NOTES 
1 66 
are also red, differs much from the other Paradiseas. The 
plumes, instead of being long and floating, are stiff, white at the 
tips and curve round in a semicircle. The two long central 
tail-shafts are very stout and horny. 
The blue bird of paradise (Paradisornis rudolphi), only dis- 
covered in 1885, is a bird of striking appearance. The head is 
of a rich bronze changing to green on the throat, the back is 
black, wings and tail brilliant blue. The breast is brown, the 
outer series of flank plumes yellowish brown ; the rest, red or black 
at the base ; and a very beautiful blue colour extends through 
the rest of the plume, which is of an exquisitely delicate 
structure. The above description is from an immature male 
from Mt. Victoria, New Guinea, the adult male possessing also 
a pair of long black wire-like shafts springing from the tail. 
The female has no blue flank-plumes. An adult male of 
this species may now be seen in the Bird Gallery at South 
Kensington. 
The king bird of paradise {Ciciniiurus regius) has the whole 
upper plumage a brilliant crimson, the feathers of the back 
being of a texture like spun glass. The throat is also red, in 
my own specimen being of a purplish tinge. A band of vivid 
green crosses the breast, and the lower parts are whitish. It 
has two curious additions to its plumage, a tuft of dark feathers 
banded with pale brown and tipped with green, springing from 
each side of the breast, and a pair of long shafts springing from 
the tail and ending in a closely rolled button-like feather, 
emerald green above and bronze below. These are all colours 
found only in the male ; the female is a plain brown bird. I had 
the pleasure of exhibiting a male king bird of paradise at the 
Annual Meeting held in May, together with a pair of twelve- 
wired birds of paradise. 
Lawes’ bird of paradise {Parotia Lawesi) presents a great 
contrast in the appearance of the two sexes. The adult male 
has the plumage of a rich velvety black, and the additional 
ornamentation is very striking. It consists of (i) a small frontal 
crest of silvery feathers which can be raised at will of the bird ; 
(2) an occipital crest of short steel-blue feathers ; (3) six long 
shafts, three on each side of the head, terminating in racquet- 
like spatules ; (4) long, thick flank-plumes of rich velvety black ; 
(5) a magnificent gorget blazing with metallic colours, showing 
changing nuances of purple, violet, emerald green, golden green, 
and gold. The female has the head black, wings and tail 
blackish brown, breast warm brown striped with blackish brown. 
As regards my own pair, the male was shot in the Ea Ea dis- 
trict, and the female in Mt. Victoria district. New Guinea. 
I am sorry to say that this splendid species is now in demand 
for hats, and milliners will give a good price for a skin, the 
males being worth £i each for this purpose. 
The lesser superb bird of paradise [LopJiorliina minor) is cha- 
racterised in the male by the huge erectile crest of velvety 
