186 
HARPER’S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE, 
THE EED MED OF EAEABISE. 
The Paradisea pajmana has a comparatively 
wide range, being the common species on the 
main land of New Guinea, as well as on the isl¬ 
ands of Mysol, Salwatty, Jobie, Biak, and Sook. 
On the south coast of New Guinea the Dutch 
naturalist, Muller, found it at the Oetanata Riv¬ 
er in longitude 130° east. I obtained it my¬ 
self at Dorey; and the captain of the Dutch 
steamer Etna informed me that he had seen the 
feathers among the natives of Humboldt Bay, 
in 141° east longitude. It is very probable, 
therefore, that it ranges over the whole of the 
main land of New Guinea. 
The true Paradise Birds are omnivorous, 
feeding on fruits and insects—of the former 
preferring the small 
figs; of the latter, 
grasshoppers, lo¬ 
custs, and phasmas, 
as tvell as cock¬ 
roaches and cater¬ 
pillars. When I re¬ 
turned home, in 
1802, I was so for¬ 
tunate as to find two 
adult males of this 
species in Singa¬ 
pore ; and as they 
seemed healthy, and 
fed voraciously on 
rice, bananas, and 
cockroaches, I de¬ 
termined on giving 
the very high price 
asked for them— 
,£100—and to bring 
them to England by 
the overland route 
under my own care. 
On my way home 1 staid a week at Bombay 
to break the journey, and to lay in a fresh 
stock of bananas for my birds. I had great 
difficulty, however, in supplying them with 
insect food, for in the Peninsular and Ori¬ 
ental steamers cockroaches were scarce, and 
it was only by setting traps in the store¬ 
rooms, and by hunting an hour every night 
in the forecastle, that I could secure a lew 
dozen of these creatures—scarcely enough for 
a single meal. At Malta, where I staid a 
fortnight. I got plenty ot cockroaches from 
a bakehouse, and when I left took Avith me 
seA'eral biscuit-tins’ full as provision for the 
voyage home. We came through the Medi¬ 
terranean in March, with a A'ery cold A\'ind ; 
and the only place on board the mail-steamer 
where their large cage could be accommo¬ 
dated was exposed to a strong current of air 
down a hatch-way Avhich stood open day and 
night, yet the birds never seemed to feel the 
cold. During the night journey from Mar¬ 
seilles to Paris it was a sharp frost; yet they 
arrived in London in perfect health, and lived 
in the Zoological Gardens for one and two 
years, often displaying their beautiful plumes 
to the admiration of the spectators. It is 
evident, therefore, that the Paradise Birds are 
very hardy, and require air and exercise rather 
than heat'; and I feel sure that if a good-sized 
conseiwatoi’v could be devoted to them, or if 
they could be turned loose in the tropical de¬ 
partment of the Crystal Palace or the Great 
Palm House at Kew, they tvould live for many 
years. 
The Rkd Bird of Paradise (Paradisea ru¬ 
bra of Viellot), though allied to the two birds 
already described, is much more distinct from 
them than they are from each other. It is 
about the same size as Paradisea pajmana 
(13 to 14 inches long), but difiers from it in 
manv particulars. The side plumes, instead of 
