INTRODUCTION. 
155 
females and young, are, in the two typical genera, 
shades of hrown or greyish brown, without any 
metallic lustre, darker on the wings and tail, and 
having the coronal and gular patches sometimes 
slightly indicated by a difference in the structure of 
the feathers. It is from this cause that, as in many 
other instances, the numbers of species have been 
much increased and the synonymy much entangled ; 
sufficient attention not having been paid to form 
and proportion in those states which were most 
liable to be confounded together. 
The plumage, in its texture, is in general rather 
loose and disconnected, assuming the scaly form 
on the crown and throat ; and it is in the typi- 
cal forms only that we see the greatest diversity 
of its structure ; it is here also only, that we 
have the scaly and imbricated distribution, the soft 
velvety feel (N. amethystina), occurring in the 
plumage of some of the Paradiseadae and Pro- 
meropicke, together with the axillary tufts before 
mentioned, so gorgeously displayed in both the 
above families, with occasional elongation of the 
tail-coverts (N. splendida). In some, also, the 
feathers forming the coloured pectoral bands are 
very large and full, and we. believe that during 
the height of the season of courtship they can be 
and are erected at will, and exhibit a brilliant 
dress of attraction and contrast between the sober 
colours of the female. In describing his Sucrier- 
Protee, Le Vaillant states that the Dutch inhabi- 
tants denominate these birds by a provincial name 
