THE



Avicultural Magazine


THE JOURNAL OF THE

AVICULTURAL SOCIETY



Fifth Series*—V oL II,—No. 6 .—All rights reserved. JUNE, 1937.



MEYER’S SICKLE-BILL


Epimachus meyeri-


Meyer’s Sickle-bill Bird of Paradise occur in the mountain forests

of South-East New Guinea and is well shown in our illustration. Mr.

Shaw Mayer has imported several specimens, and a pair which arrived

in 1936, from which our drawing was made, have done very well in

the Tropical House of the Zoological Society, where the male has been

seen to display on occasions. This consists of elongating the body tG

its full extent and at the same time spreading the pectoral fans which

form a continuation of the flank plumes and give the appearance of a

pair of brilliantly coloured wings. Then the bird bends forward,

elevating the tail and bringing into prominence the brilliant metallic

colouring of the head. The long, sickle-shaped bill is used for probing

crevices for grubs and insects and, doubtless, for extracting the juices

from flowers. A warm and damp atmosphere seems to suit this

forest-loving species.


D. S-S.



12



